Boston Celtic Music Festival

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, BCMFest (Boston Celtic Music Festival), the annual showcase for Celtic music and dance in Greater Boston, returns to Harvard Square January 18-21, 2018. This year, the all-ages festival will expand to four days and add programming at The Sinclair, one of Cambridge’s most popular nightspots. Tickets for the 15th Anniversary BCMFest go on sale this Wednesday, November 15th at 10:00A.M.

Changes in the 2018 festival will bring a fresh energy to BCMFest as it continues its mission of celebrating the variety of music, song and dance from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other Celtic-related traditions found in the Greater Boston area.

BCMFest 2018 offers the perfect mix of new and old, kicking off at Club Passim on Thursday, January 18th with the Emerging Artists Showcase. This program spotlights the young performers and new or recently established acts that continue to revitalize Celtic music. On Friday night at Club Passim, the Roots and Branches Concert will offer a sample of the innovative sounds and contrasting styles to be heard in Boston’s Celtic music community.

Also on Friday, will be one of BCMFest’s most popular features, the Boston Urban Ceilidh, which will take place at The Atrium at 50 Church Street. The Boston Urban Ceilidh features participatory and social dances from the Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton traditions with an engaging array of live music.

BCMFest's Saturday Dayfest will offer 12-plus hours of entertainment, from mid-morning to the evening, presenting all manners of Celtic music, from traditional to more contemporary sounds. BCMFest will introduce Festival Club on Saturday, with late-night performances that provide festival artists the opportunity to engage in special collaborations and push the envelope of what’s expected. The festival will roll out a BCMFest Brunch on Sunday at Club Passim before the first-ever Sunday Dayfest picks up where Saturday Dayfest left off with more sounds and styles from Boston’s Celtic music scene.

For those festival-goers who want to do more than watch or listen, there will be music sessions during Saturday and Sunday Dayfests at The Sinclair and other nearby venues. Sing-alongs and participatory dancing will also be on the schedule. Festival performers will lead workshops at The BCMFest Academy on Saturday and Sunday in Passim’s main building at 26 Church Street in Harvard Square.

For the finishing touch, the BCMFest Nightcap concert at The Sinclair will pull together festival performers and special guests for an extravaganza that attests to the special qualities of Celtic music and dance in Boston.

This new vision for the festival, according to Sean Smith, one of the festival organizers, “will enhance the BCMFest experience for performers and audiences alike while retaining the character of BCMFest as a grassroots community event for Celtic music lovers of all generations.”

Performers and acts set to perform at BCMFest 2018 include The Katie McNally Trio; Daymark; Lindsay Straw with Jordan Santiago; Allison de Groot and Nic Gareiss; Copley Street (Joey Abarta and Nathan Gourley); Molly Pinto Madigan; Celtic Roots; Parcel of Rogues (Susie Petrov and Calum Pasqua); The Vox Hunters; Elizabeth and Ben Anderson; Eamon Sefton and Maura Shawn Scanlin; Maggie MacPhail; Boston Harbor Bhoys; Gus LaCasse; Rockport Celtic Duo; Ceol Corvus; Quebecois showcase with Adrienne Howard, Eric Bodman and Max Newman; The Medford All Star Ceili Band; Boston College Irish Dance; The Kelly Girls; Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra; Thar Toinn; Natasha Sheehy; Sailbow; Colleen White and Sean Smith; Royal Scottish Country Dance Society; and Pumpkin Bread. Additional acts are expected to be added.

BCMFest is a program of Passim, a Cambridge-based non-profit seeking to build a vibrant music community through Club Passim, music school, artist grants and outreach initiatives.

Ticket and schedule information, as well as updates on performers and other festival events and activities, are available through the BCMFest website at passim.org/bcmfest.

• 
  Sponsored

  Affordable Spanish Classes in Boston (in-person and online courses) | BASE

  Monday, May 06, 2024 goes until 05/25

  Boston Area Spanish Exchange (BASE)
• 
  Sponsored

  WBUR Earth Week Events

  Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024 goes until 04/26

  WBUR CitySpace at The Lavine Broadcast Center

Sesh by The Boston Calendar | Advertise Terms | Privacy Policy | About