BCMFest "Celtic Music Monday" series at Club Passim

Having rung down the curtain on its fifth festival, the Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) will be once again presenting the monthly "Celtic Music Monday" series at Club Passim, starting this coming Monday, Feb. 11.

BCMFest loves to encourage collaborations, and it's that spirit of coming together which enlivens this first show of 2008, which will present the debut of a new trio, followed by the long-awaited return of a guitar legend to the Boston Irish scene. Featured performers are: Dan Gurney, one of the Northeast's best young accordion players (he's played with John Whelan, Cherish the Ladies, and Matt and Shannon Heaton, among others, and appeared at BC); fiddler Duncan Wickel, who has toured with John Doyle and James Devine's Tapeire; Mark Simos, a widely acclaimed composer and songwriter who has accompanied some of the legends of Irish music on guitar; and Forrest O'Connor, whose mandolin playing comes from a strong bluegrass background.
The concert will begin with the first-ever public appearance of an exciting collaboration between Gurney, O'Connor and Wickel. They will be playing what can be loosely described as a mix of bluegrass, Irish, and jazz — although, as Gurney says, "the music we've been working on doesn't sound completely like any of those styles. It's something that we've never heard before, and we're looking forward to seeing what the audience thinks of it." The second half will focus on Irish tunes, as Gurney and Wickel are joined by Simos, whose guitar accompaniment will at long last emerge from semi-retirement.
BCMFest Celtic Music Monday
Feb. 11, 8 p.m.
Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square
Tickets $12, $6 for members of Passim, WGBH or WUMB
Go to http://www.passimcenter.org or call 617-492-7679