Danú Perform a Dazzling Concert in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Danú has been described as the hottest Irish band on the festival circuit today, and it was easy to see why when they took to the stage at the ACT – the Maple Ridge Arts Centre and Theatre – on October 8.
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| AWARD WINNING members of Danú at the ACT in Maple Ridge. (L-R) Tom Doorley, Eamon Doorley, Benny McCarthy, Oisin McAuley and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. |
The group has a strong loyalty to the traditions from where they draw their music and as a group they are very tight and versatile. They are indeed worthy of all the praise they’ve received.
Earlier this year, they were awarded Vocal/Instrumental Album of the Year for their new CD, The Road Less Travelled, along with and Female Singer of the Year for Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh.
It is the beautiful and multi-talented female lead singer, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh who sets the group apart with her haunting evocative singing in both Irish and English. She is equally adept on the flute and tin whistles.
It is very obvious that the group enjoy their music and they enjoy performing on stage together. There is a lot of the craic and passing the humour on to the audience. The audience responded with hand clapping, foot stomping and calling the members of Danú
back for an encore at the end of the night. Unfortunately two members of the band were unable to participate on this tour, the bodhran and uilleann pipe player, and the guitar player.
I had an opportunity to speak to Oisin McAuley, who plays fiddle and backing vocals with Danú after the concert. I asked him about the rumour that this might be one of their last North American appearances.
He said, “we will be scaling back our tours because of commitments at home, but we will still be doing concerts. In future, our tours will be shorter and we are already planning another album for 2006.” For more information about Danú, visit: www.danu.net.
Scott Fraser is the new Marketing Manager at the ACT and he spoke to me about some of their exciting up coming concerts. One which will be of interest to the Celtic community and to folk enthusiasts alike is The Cottars, Cape Breton’s latest success story. The Cottars bring their own unique mix of traditional and contemporary Celtic music to the stage and they will perform at the ACT on December 4.
The ACT is an intimate, cosy theatre with a seating capacity of 500. It was opened three years ago and there is not a bad seat in the house. For more information about up-coming concerts at the ACT, visit: www.theactmapleridge.org.
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