Maine Irish Song Project with CASTLEBAY

Name: Maine Irish Song Project with CASTLEBAY
Start: 2025-11-15T19:30:00-05:00
Location: 34 Gray St, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04102

Schedule

Sat, 15 Nov, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

34 Gray St, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04102 | Portland, ME

Castlebay Presents the Maine Irish Song Project
A CONCERT OF MAINE’S TRADITIONAL IRISH SONGS
Saturday, November 15th
7:30pm
Doors open at 7:00pm
Maine’s premier Celtic folk duo Castlebay will present a concert of Maine’s traditional Irish songs at the Maine Irish Heritage Center. The concert will include ballads and blarney gleaned from Maine’s vibrant Irish tradition accompanied with 12-string guitar, Celtic harp, fiddle and tin whistle.
This performance offers a rare opportunity to experience Maine’s Irish musical heritage in an intimate setting. With over three decades of touring throughout the U.S., Scotland, England, and Ireland, and more than two dozen recordings, Castlebay brings authenticity, scholarship, and artistry to every note!
General Admission is $25, or you can snag front row seats for $35 – and don’t wait! General Admission will go up to $30 at the door, and Priority Seating is only available in advance!
About the Artists:
Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee have been exploring and transcribing archives of music collected in Maine in the early 20th century. Collectors ranged throughout the state gathering hundreds of traditional songs many of which are from Ireland brought by the people emigrating and settling here and working on the coast, in the woods, farms and factories. Field recordings and journals document over 1000 songs from which the duo have selected and arranged music for performance. In addition to singing these versions of old Irish music, Castlebay will share the lore and history of this potent musical legacy which embodies stories of romance and rogues, shipwreck and survival as well as a good dose of humor and blarney. The duo has transcribed many of these songs, “mending” them, and publishing a series titled “Bygone Ballads of Maine”. Volume 1, “Songs of Ships and Sailors” was presented by Loomis House Press in 2021 and is available in local bookstores as well as online. Castlebay has recorded two albums of these songs “Bound Away” and “The Maid on the Shore” which are available from their website. A subsequent volume and recording of Maine’s Irish songs is in process.

For over 30 years, Castlebay has toured the eastern US, Scotland, England and Ireland being appreciated at arts centers, folk clubs, festivals, schools and on radio and television. They have released over two dozen recordings and their music has been used on numerous video soundtracks. More information is available at their website www.castlebay.net