Randal Bays, Susan Waters & Marty Smith in Concert

Irish fiddle, bouzouki, and songs—a powerful evening of tunes, songs, and stories that span continents and generations.
About this Event

Doors at 7:30 pm/Show at 8 pm

Get ready for an unforgettable night of traditional Irish music as internationally acclaimed fiddler Randal Bays and dynamic bouzouki player and singer Marty Smith take the stage for a one-night-only concert at the United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco. This rare West Coast appearance pairs the passionate, West-of-Ireland–inspired fiddle playing of Bays with the driving rhythms and rich vocals of Smith, promising a powerful evening of tunes, songs, and stories that span continents and generations.

Randal Bays is well-known on both sides of the Atlantic for his fine fiddling and his devotion to the traditional style of playing. He has a close affinity with the music of Clare and Galway and has spent many a night making music in those musically rich counties. Randal has toured and recorded with such great musicians as Martin Hayes, James Keane, Daithí Sproule, James Kelly and many more. In 2021 he received the Irish Artist in America Achievement Award from O’Flaherty Irish Music. Randal lives in the Pacific Northwest and is Artistic Director of Cascadia Irish Music Week. Besides the fiddle, Randal is highly regarded for his fingerstyle guitar playing, including two seminal albums with Clare fiddler Martin Hayes in the early 90s.
“Randal Bays is one of Irish music’s most outstanding musicians and composers… If you love Irish traditional music, this is how it should be done!” - James Kelly Bays is a rare beast, a true master of both the fiddle and guitar." Cork Examiner (Ireland)
Susan Waters, fiddle and vocals - Susan is a native of Vermont, where she grew up in the midst of a musical family, immersed in the instrumental and song traditions of that part of the world. As a teen she traveled widely in Europe, took up the Irish fiddle and developed a strong, rhythmic style on her many trips to western Ireland. Susan met Randal in the late 90s and they've been playing tunes together ever since, finding time along the way to get married and raise two sons, both excellent musicians themselves.
Marty Smith, bouzouki and vocals - Marty grew up in rural Wyoming where he got fired up about Irish music from going to music festivals with his family. When he heard the bouzouki he decided that was his passion, although he also plays guitar and several other instruments. Marty is also a fine, strong singer with a large repertoire of traditional songs. He's played many gigs at pubs, festivals, and private venues, and he's taught at music camps and school outreach programs across the Rocky Mountain region. Marty now plays a rare, custom-built instrument, a cross between a guitar and a bouzouki made by famed luthier Nigel Forster.
Randal's Website: www.randalbays.com/
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