Tuesday, January 29
Celtic
Leahy
LAXSON AUDITORIUM | 7:30 p.m.$25 Premium | $20 Adult
$18 Senior | $16 Student/Child
"Their live performance makes Riverdance look like Lawrence Welk re-runs." — Time Out New York
Local Chico Dancer on Stage with Leahy in Laxson Performance
Molly Sullivan, a 14 year-old Irish dance champion from Chico, will be joining the Celtic musical group Leahy on stage during their performance at Laxson Auditorium. Molly, a freshman at Pleasant Valley High School, has been dancing with the Oliver Academy of Irish Dance since she was a first grader. In recent years, she has entered and won several Irish Dance competitions in the Western States region.
Molly, who has lived in Chico all her life, says she prefers to perform with a live band. Already a seasoned performer, Molly is unfazed about performing on the stage at Laxson, although she does express excitement about performing with the likes of the international known Leahys. "I am thrilled and honored to be able to dance with Leahy. For me, the opportunity to perform with a band of their caliber is one of the most exiting things in my dance career."
Molly's dance teacher, Maria Oliver says "Molly is a natural born Irish step dancer. Her talent was apparent from the first lessons she took from me, and it has been a pleasure to see her grow into the talented dancer she is today. I am pleased she's getting the recognition she deserves by dancing with Leahy on stage at Laxson."
The eight performers of Leahy all have two things in common: they all have the last name Leahy, and they are all musical dynamos. And, they are back at Laxson due to popular demand. From Celtic to country to classical and pop, these eight siblings are a whirlwind of fiddle-driven music, dance, percussion, keyboards, and vocals that leave audiences breathless. Their music combines the influence of their Irish and Scottish roots, and their storytelling provides a glimpse into their Nova Scotia family roots.
From Celtic to country to classical and pop, the Leahy's are a whirlwind of fiddle-driven music, dance, percussion, keyboards and vocals that leave audiences breathless. Their music combines the influence of their Irish and Scottish roots with their inherent desire to widely travel the musical map. The Los Angeles Times raved — "[Leahy's] approach seems so gloriously free of the commercial pollution of so much American pop that it felt like a tonic for the spirit."
The raven-haired Leahy Clan grew up in Lakefield, Ontario. Ancestor Michael Leahy settled there in 1825 from Ireland and brought with him a deep family musical tradition. Each of the Leahy children learned to play fiddle from their father, while their mother, a champion step-dancer born and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, taught them to sing, dance and play piano. However, a desire for new sounds drew them to a variety of musical genres and instruments. This resulted in a long period of touring success during which the family performed throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. The period was notably captured in a student documentary about the family entitled The Leahys: Music Most of All. The film won an Academy Award in 1985 for Best Student Foreign Film.
In 1997, the Leahy's released the self titled CD Leahy. That CD went Platinum in Canada and reached number four on the Billboard World Music Charts. The CD garnered two Junos in 1997 (Best Instrumental Group and Best New Group) and a third in 1998 (Best Country Group or Duo). It was at this time that Shania Twain invited them to join her first world tour and appear in two of her television specials. Leahy played 175 tour dates with Twain and received standing ovations each and every night.
Confidence and a wealth of lyrical ideas waiting for expression pushed Leahy to evolve again in their second CD Lakefield. The group took on greater writing, recording, and producing responsibilities with this project and the effort resulted in a CD that helped them become Virgin Canada's largest selling domestic group worldwide; a testament to the band's success in finding a loyal audience as musically adventurous as they are.
Their recording, In All Things, is marked more than ever by Leahy's willingness to range freely over musical boundaries and shed conventions when necessary. This approach earned them yet another Juno nomination in 2005, this time for Best Roots and Traditional Album by a Group.
Winter 2007 saw them release their first ever live DVD and CD. PBS audiences are currently watching Leahy's third television special. They are also in the midst of working on their second DVD and live CD, which are to be released in 2008.
Leahy will always feel the power of its musical roots, but they continue to be driven to forge new paths with their category-defying brand of music; a sound and style known to many fans as simply "Leahy."
Leahy is:
Donnell — fiddle
Maria — guitar
Siobheann — bass
Frank — drums
Agnes — keyboards
Doug — fiddle
Erin — piano
Angus — fiddle
If you enjoy this performance, you might also enjoy:
Celtic Fiddle Festival
Tomáseen Foley's A Celtic Christmas
Cherryholmes with Mossy Creek
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Tiempo Libre