HAPPENINGS
PRIME – March 2014
AGAWAM
DIXIELAND STOMP
On March 7 at 7 p.m., the Agawam Cultural Council's Applause Ser...
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| | YankCelt returns in time for St. Patrick's Day |  | |
PRIME – March 2014
By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
Six musicians. Seven concerts. A Western Massachusetts tradition nearly as anticipated as Holyoke's famed St. Patrick's Day Parade.
For their 24th year, Robert Emmet "Bo" Fitzgerald, Jeffery Sullivan, Guy DeVito, Craig Eastman, Michael "Mixie" Clarke and Billy Klock will come together as "Bo Fitz and the YankCelt Band" on March 13 at The Harp in Sunderland, Mass., to begin a whirlwind two weeks of performances, including their annual St. Patrick's Day party at Theodore's in downtown Springfield and a special March 22 concert at CityStage.
The band's purpose – to keep alive the Irish music tradition, and well, to have a good time doing it.
"We literally never rehearse," Eastman, who flies in annually from Los Angeles to play fiddle and mandolin with YankCelt, said. "One of the things that makes it exciting is that when we get onstage in March it will literally be the first time we have played together as a group in a year. It keeps it fresh, that's for sure."
Originally from Northampton, Mass., Eastman is one of two YankCelt performers – the other is Clarke, who hails from Galway, Ireland – who make what he calls "a wonderful pilgrimage" to Western Massachusetts each March.
Eastman is an accomplished musician who has performed on the soundtrack of films including Walt Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Brokeback Mountain," and won a 2013 Grammy Award for his work on Steve Martin's banjo album. He said playing with YankCel...
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