Ireland's Gerry O'Connor & Don Penzien at The Ugly Mug
Schedule
Fri Mar 06 2026 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm
UTC-08:00Location
The Ugly Mug Café | Soquel, CA
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Enjoy an intimate evening of Irish music with fiddle player Gerry O’Connor and guitarist Don Penzien at The Ugly Mug Cafe in Soquel on Friday, March 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM. Tickets: celticsociety.org
Celtic Society Members take $3 off
Gerry O’Connor grew up in the town of Dundalk, County Louth in a family of musicians, dancers and singers. His mother Rose (née O’Brien) taught Gerry and his siblings the fiddle at home and she continued to teach from there for the next 40 years.
Gerry has played and recorded with such highly-regarded groups as Lá Lúgh (Eithne Ní Uallacháin, Sony Music) and Skylark (Len Graham, Gary O’Briain & Mairtin O’Connor), recording four CDs on the Claddagh label. Gerry has toured and recorded with members of all the legendary groups including Planxty, Bothy Band, De Dannan, Boys of the Lough and the Chieftains. Lá Lugh’s album “Brighid’s Kiss” was voted Album of the Year 1996 by readers of the Irish Music Magazine. His solo album “Journeyman” was counted in the top five Albums of the year 2004 by the Irish Times. This critically acclaimed solo album was heralded as a significant milestone in recording the music of the “Oriel” region of South Ulster.
His 2006 live album “In Concert” recorded with Gilles le Bigot (Barzaz, Skolvan) was a celebration of the cultural links between Ireland and Brittany. With Nuala Kennedy, Martin Quinn and Gilles le Bigot, Gerry released the album Oirialla in November 2012 at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Canada.
In 2018, Gerry was awarded “Ceannródaí”, the prestigious Bardic Award by Comhaltas for his valued contribution to the Traditional Arts. In the same year, he launched his second solo album “Last Night’s Joy” and published ” The Rose in the Gap”, Dance Music for Oriel from the Donnellan Collection.
For this tour, Gerry is accompanied by Don Penzien, a top-flight performer of Irish traditional music. It was the never-ending traditional music playing at the Irish pub he frequented while earning his Ph.D. (clinical psychology) in Athens, Ohio that inspired Don to play and where he began his exclusive use of the “DADGAD” guitar tuning with tips from such notables as Zan McLeod and Daíthí Sproule. Frequently on the road playing concerts and festivals with his many projects including Gailfean (featuring Brian Conway, John Whelan & Máirtín de Cógáin), The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and Shared Madness (featuring Haley Richardson & Megan Irby). Don is widely recognized for his reserved backing style and his dexterous work on DADGAD-tuned guitar provides solid, driving rhythms to traditional tunes as well as perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs.
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Where is it happening?
The Ugly Mug Café, 4640 Soquel Dr,Soquel, California, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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