Arty McGlynn.
THE Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny is hosting a special concert on Saturday, November 24 to celebrate the music of the acclaimed Omagh guitarist Arty McGlynn.
An Evening with Arty McGlynn and Friends will feature some of Arty’s regular musical partners and showcase a number of sides of his renowned guitar style in music ranging from traditional to blues and jazz.
A brilliantly rich and varied programme will include the traditional music duo of Arty and his wife Nollaig Casey, a guitar duo with his son Jerome and Arty’s swinging jazz and blues group the Grooveyard Shift.
Arty McGlynn is one of Ireland’s most renowned guitarists and has a considerable international reputation and was born in Omagh, into a family steeped in traditional music, his father played the accordion and his mother the fiddle, and by the age of five Arty was playing reels proficiently on the accordion.
When his mother bought him his first guitar at the age of eleven, Arty began to delve into the playing of great jazz guitarists such as Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel, and by the time he turned fifteen, he was already playing professionally.
In 1979 he recorded his first solo album, McGlynn’s Fancy, that was the first recording ever in which the guitar is played in an authentic traditional style and has been hailed as a classic in the traditional music world.
Arty subsequently became one of the most sought after musicians in Ireland, playing and recording with the likes of Christy Moore, Paul Brady and Donal Lunny. He played as a member of such prestigious groups as Planxty, Patrick Street, De Danann and the Van Morrison Band.
In 1989, Arty and his wife Nollaig Casey, one of Ireland’s leading fiddle players, released their first duet album, Lead the Knave to great critical acclaim and their second equally acclaimed album Causeway came out in 1995.
His other main traditional duo is with the great piper Liam O’Flynn, with whom he also co-produced Liam’s album The Piper’s Call.
The focus of this intimate concert at the RCC is very much on family and friends. In addition to including a traditional duo set with Arty and his wife Nollaig it will also feature a father and son guitar duo with Arty and Jerome McGlynn.
One of the most anticipated performances of the evening is the first Donegal outing of Arty’s swinging jazz and blues band The Grooveyard Shift.
The band features some of the finest musicians in the North West with Sean McCarron on sax, Aiden Dunphy on drums and Sean O’Brien on bass, in addition to Arty and Jerome on guitar and with a guest appearance on the night by Nollaig on red hot fiddle.
This celebration of a truly great local musician promises to be a very special occasion.
The concert on the 24th commences at 8pm, tickets priced €12 and €10 concession can be booked through An Grianan Theatre Box Office on 074 91 20777.