News

Eileen Ivers, Enter The Haggis Top Three-day Lineup

January 30, 2007

As the saying goes, you can’t have too much of a good thing. At least that’s what organizers of the Great American Irish Festival are hoping, as they have added a third day for this summer’s edition of the wildly successful festival.
The 2007 Great American Irish Festival will be held on Friday, July 27, Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29 at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds in Frankfort. The unprecedented and meteoric growth of the Great American Irish Festival made the decision to add a third day an easy one. “People asked for it and we listened,�? said Festival Director Matthew Sullivan. “With three days of entertainment, there is sure to be something for everyone. Where else can you get three days of world class entertainment at these prices?�?
Festival-goers have an opportunity to make it an even bigger bargain, as a limited number of advance–sale tickets are available now for $20 for the entire three-day festival, and once those tickets are gone, that price won’t come around again. “This is a great value, and the lowest price that will be offered for the 4th annual fest,�? noted Assistant Festival Director Kevin Dowling. “You don’t want to pass it up.�?
The festival committee has chosen as its theme for this year’s festival the Great Hunger – the famine of 1847 – to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the worst year of the potato blight that decimated much of the Irish population. Displays will be on hand depicting the elements of this tragedy.
Also, new this year will be the addition of a Gaelic Mass to be held at 10:30 on Sunday morning. Those attending the mass will receive free admission to Sunday’s activities. But even with the culture and the history, for many of the festival attendees, the focus is on the music, and once again they will not be disappointed.

Headlining this year’s festival will be an artist who has been called the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, Eileen Ivers, who can boast of a resume that includes stints with the original Riverdance Company, Cherish the Ladies, and her own award-winning solo career.
In addition to fiddle virtuoso Ivers and her all-star band Immigrant Soul, festival-goers will also enjoy such world-class acts as The Prodigals, the most successful act ever to emerge from the thriving East Coast Irish rock scene; Enter the Haggis, recently featured on A&E Network’s Emmy-nominated Breakfast With The Arts series; Hair of the Dog, who has been called America’s top Irish folk act; and The Glengarry Bhoys, who have established themselves as one of the top draws on the Irish music circuit with their fiery guitar and bass, intense percussion and fiddle, all teamed with the power of bagpipes.
Returning to the festival this year will be the one of the most renowned Irish show bands of all time, the legendary Paddy Noonan Band, along with the high-stepping electrifying show of Canada’s first family of Celtic music, Searson.
Making their Great American Irish Festival debuts will be the Midwest’s top Irish band, The Elders; the music and comedy of Seamus Kennedy; and the fusion of Celtic music and jazz of the award-winning Millish. Also on the bill will be Greenwich Meantime, Fieldstone, West O’Clare, The Blarney Rebel Band, Vince Colgan, Cliudan and John Gilligan.
Proceeds from the annual festival will be used to help establish an Irish Cultural Center in the Mohawk Valley.
The festival will also feature pipers, Irish dance and music demonstrations and workshops, a Gaelic Football tournament sponsored by CMI, Irish history and culture seminars in the Smurfit-Stone Cultural Building, and a variety of other local and regional performers. There will also be events for children such as storytellers, rides, clowns, and games. Also new this year will be the CW (Television Network) Teen Zone.
In addition to the non-stop music, merchandise vendors from across the U.S. and Ireland, carefully selected from a list of applicants, will be selling Irish and Celtic merchandise, and a variety of food booths will be providing a taste of the Emerald Isle for festival-goers. Campsites are also available.
And, there is more to come. “As impressive as this list of performers is, we still expect to add one or two more huge acts,�? predicted Sullivan.