Saltwater Times

Saltwater Update

Tickets for the Saltwater Celtic Music Festival (July 20-21, 2013) at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick are now available online. In fact, for a limited time, anybody purchasing 2 or more two-day tickets will get to choose a free CD from one of four SW 2013 performers: Maeve Gilchrist, Enter The Haggis, Young Dubliners, or The Paul McKenna Band. We’re also waiving the usual $5.00 S&H fee for all orders. That’s why we have only three words of advice for you: Go For It! Get your Saltwater TICKETS and get ready for what promises to be the best weekend of the summer. See you at Saltwater!

the staff of the Saltwater Celtic Music Festival

Saltwater 2013 Is Looking Good!

July 20-21, 2013 are the dates to mark on your calendar because the return of Enter The Haggis, to close on Saturday, is just the beginning of our good news. The Young Dubliners, among the very best of the crop of Celtic rockers, will make their Maine debut at Saltwater, appearing on Saturday and closing out the festival on Sunday. Our friend and noted author Kevin O’Hara will serve as MC on Sunday and Maeve Gilchrist is returning in that role on Saturday; Maeve will also appear on Sunday with an incredible, improvisational dancer, Nic Gareiss. No strangers to Thomas Point Beach from performances at the Maine Highland Games, Prydein will appear on Sunday, bagpipes and all, along with more traditional artists Raz-de-Marée, The Paul McKenna Band and The Gothard Sisters. Also rounding out, to say the least, Saturday’s line-up, are the fabulous Screaming Orphans (pictured above) and The John Byrne Band. We can’t wait for Saltwater so we’re going to start a little early with Saltwater Satellite Events on the days leading up to July 20th. Already booked on July 19th are fabulous showcases at Maine Maritime Museum (The Squid Jiggers); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Naia); Acadia Trad School at College of the Atlantic (Vishten). We will also be partnering with Skye Theatre to present a taste of the World Acadia Congress slated for Aroostook County in 2014. Follow us on Facebook for breaking news, interesting Celtic stuff, and details about the Saltwater Books and Pubs Tour. See you at Saltwater!

Verse of the Month

Brown Penny

I whispered, ‘I am too young,’
And then, ‘I am old enough’;
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
‘Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.’
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.

O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

William Butler Yeats

Upcoming Maine Shows of Note for March

8 - Dervish (pictured) - Strand Theater - Rockland

9 - Cherish The Ladies - One Longfellow Square - Portland

13 - Goitse - Skye Theatre - South Carthage

17 - Paddy Keenan - Skye Theatre - South Carthage

17 - Boghat - Brian Boru (7:00-10:00 a.m.) and The Inn on Peaks (5:30-8:30 p.m.)

17 - Band of the Scots Guards and more - Civic Center - Portland

24 - Gaelic Storm - Stone Mountain Arts Center - Brownfield

27 - Danielle Langord - BLUE - Portland (CD release)

Start St. Patrick’s Day celebrations early, join the Maine Irish Heritage Center’s Neighborhood Parade to Harborview Park - 8:30 a.m

A FEW MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY, 2013: Eileen Ivers, Ordway Ctr, Saint Paul, MN; Solas (2005 SW performers pictured above) at Flynn Center, Burlington, VT; Young Dubliners at Shamrock Festival, San Diego; Enter The Haggis, Center for the Arts, Natick, MA; Dervish, Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, Santa Monica; Cherish the Ladies, Macomb Center, Clinton Township, MI; Black 47, B.B. Kings, New York; Gaelic Storm, Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee; Lunasa at Powell HS, Powell, WY; The Saw Doctors, Theatre Living Arts, Philadelphia; The John Byrne Band, Bankshots, Newark, DE; Dublin City Ramblers, Holy Cross catholic Church, Vero Beach, FL; The Prodigals, House of Blues, Cleveland; Flogging Molly, Tempe Beach Park, Tempe, AZ; Dropkick Murphys, House of Blues, Boston.

And The Official Brewer Is….

We are pleased to announce that The Official Brewer of the 2013 Saltwater Celtic Music Festival is:

After a great deal of research, and even a bit of sampling at many of the great tasting rooms we have here in Maine, the choice was clear. Rising Tide, located at 103 Fox Street in Portland with a tasting room, has a first-class selection of handcrafted beers and a healthy appetite for experimentation. We will have more details soon about a very special brew of theirs that will be poured at the Saltwater Pub Tent. Joining Rising Tide in the Pub Tent will be old friends and Saltwater veterans, Maine Mead Works. We’re going to have some fun with these fine folks and we wonder….will July ever get here? Anyway, if you are of age, and you probably are, check them both out online: Rising Tide / Maine Mead Works

President Obama Proclaims March Irish-American Heritage Month

from Irish America…

St. Patrick’s Day gets all the love and notoriety, but since 1991 all 31 days of March have been proclaimed Irish-American Heritage Month. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush issued the first Presidential Proclamation and the tradition has continued. The proclamation is issued each February 28th, honoring Irish Americans and their ancestors for their contributions to American history and recognizing the historical prejudice against Irish immigrants.