with special guests
Altan in Amharclann na Cathrach, Gailllimh: ceolchoirm mar chuid d’Fhéile Tonnta, tionscnaimh ceiliúrtha cultúir de chuid Gaillimh le Gaeilge.
Altan will play in the Town Hall Theatre, Galway as part of the Tonnta Festival, a celebration of culture hosted by Gaillimh le Gaeilge.
Altan have been the forefront of traditional Irish music for nearly forty years now. Frontwomen, fiddler and singer, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her late husband, flute player, Frankie Kennedy formed the band back in the early eighties after their highly acclaimed album on Gael Linn, “Ceol Aduaidh” (Music of the North)1983, which focused on the music of their roots and background in Co. Donegal and the North-West in general.
The band have toured all over the world, bringing their unique sound to places as diverse as the Hollywood Bowl, The Albert Hall and to small dance halls and bars in the remote areas of Donegal and beyond. Their music spans the spectrum of being energetic and raw in their dance tune selections to being sensitive and sophisticated in the arrangements of the songs and slower pieces. This gives audiences a glimpse of the depth and richness of our Irish heritage.
Such is the importance of Altan’s popularity at home and abroad that the Irish Government through An Post (The Irish Postal Body), honoured Altan by issuing a postal stamp featuring the band on November 7, 2006. This award showed Altan’s immense impact on recent Irish culture at home and abroad and the growing popularity of Irish traditional music generally. Altan have also been recognised by the Donegal County Council, when they hosted a civic reception in their offices in March 2018, in recognition of their contribution to traditional Irish music for over 30 years and becoming global ambassadors for County Donegal worldwide.
With their excellent produced award-winning recordings, from their groundbreaking ‘Island Angel’ album going to no.2 in the Billboard World Music Charts in 1993,to their more recent “Gap of Dream” 2018, Altan are going from strength to strength having over 2-7 million hits on tracks on Spotify !
Altan are working on a new album with latest member Clare Friel joining ranks with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and bringing the dual fiddle sound back to the core of the band’s sound. With Ciaran Curran, bouzouki, Mark Kelly guitar, Dáithí Sproule guitar and Martin Tourish, accordion, the band are looking forward to more concerts and touring in the future Some Quotes: The Boston Globe :”The hottest group in the Celtic Realm”. Dolly Parton on her collaboration with Altan on Heartsongs 1994 and Little Sparrow 2001: “A match made in heaven with the best traditional band” And the UK’s Q Magazine wrote “The Red Crow is a triumphant statement of the virtues of the traditional approach” ‘The Poison Glen’(2012), Siobhan Long of The Irish Times wrote ”Altan have never sounded better or tighter.” Altan have always approached their music and arrangements with integrity and openness and have strived to share their culture to new expanding audiences.
