The Celtic Festival has kicked off in earnest this week and one of the highlights of this year’s event is the Lunasa concert which is taking place in the Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny tomorrow, Friday night.
Lunasa is one of the most sought-after groups on the Irish and international trad scene. ‘Their inventive arrangements are steering Irish music into surprising new territories reaffirming their reputation as the best traditional Irish band on the planet!’ (The Irish Echo ).
Their passion for the music and their ability to transport it to new levels make Lunasa ‘simply irresistable’.
'The Story so Far...' Lúnasa's new 'best of' album is also in the shops and the new CD includes a selection of tracks from each of their previous albums, re-mixed and re-mastered.
Having just completed a hectic American tour, the band are looking forward to playing to an Irish audience in Kilkenny for the Celtic Festival.
In October 1997, the quintet that is Lúnasa released their first CD ‘Lúnasa’, a mix of concert and studio tracks gathered from their prolific year together. It was immediately hailed as one of the finest, freshest recordings of Irish music in years.
In 1999 Lúnasa signed a 3–album deal with US label, Green Linnet. The deal was the largest Green Linnet have ever offered a new signing. In October of that year ‘Otherworld’ was released.
This record strengthened Lúnasa’s growing global reputation as one of the hottest, most electrifying bands in Irish music today. The album was Green Linnet’s fastest selling record in its 25-year history.
2007 celebrates 10 years of Lúnasa. The BBC showed their support by filming their headlining show at Glasgow’s international jamboree, Celtic Connections – making Lúnasa the only band to have been filmed twice by the BBC at the event. Soon after the band set off on a 7-week jaunt that saw them travel across Australia (taking in all the major cities ), on to Alaska and back with shows in 13 US states including Florida in the South.
Their newest CD, “The Story So Far...” includes expansive liner notes on the band’s history and an extensive photo journal of the past 11 years.
Don’t miss Lunasa this week at the Watergate Theatre on Friday night. Tickets available from the box office on 7761674.
