First Night is a non-alcoholic family-oriented New Years celebration through the arts and this year is the tenth anniversary of First Night in Columbia. Eleven venues downtown feature music or all types, lots of dancing, children's activities, puppet shows, magic, poetry readings, storytelling and a special showing of "Pass the Gravy", a 1920's silent movie with an original score written and performed by The Peoples Republic of Klezmerica! The entire schedule is here: http://firstnight.missouri.org/2005/schedule.html

Irish band Cé will perform at 9:30 pm at the Tiger Columns Ballroom; first a performance set followed by a ceili (Irish social dancing) with caller Christine Harker.  (Cé performed at First Night two years ago under the name Anam Ri. They've since changed out two members, but flute player Asher Gray, fiddler/concertina player Devin McCabe and singer Brian Hart are still the foundation for this young, high energy, amazingly talented group. See their bio below.)

If you're coming in from out of town, First Night has organized some special hotel packages. Details are here: http://www.travelhero.com/eventhero/index.cfm?eventid=778&aid=563

Wearing a First Night button is your pass to all the venues for the evening. You can purchase buttons in advance at any Gerbes grocery store, The ARC, Streetside Records, or the Parks & Rec office downtown.  Advance purchases come with a sheet of coupons for businesses around Columbia worth over $20.  You can also purchase buttons at any venue on Friday evening, beginning at 6 pm.
Buttons are $7 for folks 7 years and older.

Got a little time to volunteer?
First Night organizers still need a few willing volunteers to be stage hands for 2 hours of the evening. If you can volunteer, contact Jane Accurso: 573-442-4683 or j_accurso@hotmail.com
It takes more than 200 volunteers to make this great community event run as smoothly as it has for the past nine years. If you have already volunteered for this year, or if you've volunteered in the past - Thank You for your efforts!

See you at First Night!

New Years Day Ceili at Focal Point

Saturday, January 1, 8 pm.  Irish band Cé will perform and Christine Harker will call and teach dances for a special New Years Ceili.

Focal Point is located at: 2720 Sutton Blvd, Maplewood, MO (St. Louis) 63143     314-781-4200
You can find directions on their web site: http://www.thefocalpoint.org/

If you would like to join a carpool of folks going over, or offer a ride, drop me (Kate) an e-mail or call 573-442-2048.

St. Louis dancers may be able to provide overnight lodging for us out-of-town dancers. If you want to stay over, let me  now and I'll see what's available.

Here's a bit more info about Cé:

Cé, a traditional Irish group from Milwaukee Wisconsin, was formed in the spring of 2004. Cé is an Irish word that translated means, a body of land next to a body of water or it can also translate to mean “who”. Randy Gosa, Asher Gray, and Devin McCabe are the thee member s that make up Cé along with special guests Nick Cregor, and Brian Hart.
Randy Gosa has been playing Irish and other music for several years with various groups. Most notable is St. Brendan’s Voyage, a Milwaukee based Irish dance music band. He plays the Tenor Banjo, Guitar and Bouzouki and has been doing so for the better part of ten years. He now plays with the newly -formed Milwaukee band Cé in efforts to progress with the world of Irish music.

Asher Gray plays flute, whistle, bouzouki, and bodhrán in Cé. He has been playing traditional Irish music for 10 years and was a founding member of the Milwaukee group Anam Rí. As well as winning various competitions such as the Fleádh Ceol throughout the U.S. Asher was also the recipient of the Ed Ward Scholarship for music in 2000. Asher currently resides in Milwaukee and is pursuing an art and technology degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Devin McCabe, Cé's fiddler and concertina player, has also competed in the Midwest and in Ireland. Devin has his own Irish music web site: www.irishtunes.net and attends the University Wisconsin-Madison where he is pursuing a degree in computer science. Devin was also a former member of the group Anam Rí.

CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENT: DANÚ

Irish band Danú will perform in Columbia on Sunday, January 23 at 7:00 pm
Location: Sacred Heart Church Activity Building, 1116 Locust St  (corner of Locust and Waugh in downtown)
Advance tickets are $14 public / $12 CMCAA members / $5 kids 6 - 16
At the door all tickets will be $1 more.  Students will be admitted for $8 when they show a student ID at the door.

Advance tickets are on sale now at these locations:

• Streetside Records (on Providence Rd in downtown, across from the University power plant)
• Tiger Tales Bookstore  (THEY HAVE MOVED!) phone: 449-5996
  Corner of E. Nifong and Forum Blvd by the new Walgreens and Hoss' Market.

CMCAA Members can get the member discount at either location. Payment by cash or check is accepted.

If you want to pay by credit card, you can pay through PayPal.com via our web site: http://chivalry.com/moceltic/danu_tix.html

Who the heck are Danu???  This 7-member band will knock your socks off!
We've been hoping to bring them to Columbia for several years, but it's never been practical or affordable until now. Their tour schedule was such that they had a day off and were within easy reach of Columbia, so we'll finally get them here!

They were recipients of the "Best Live Act" award at the 2000 Irish Traditional Music Awards,

Below is an article about them. Note that earlier this year they added female vocalist Muireen Nic Amhlaoibh from the Irish-speaking Corca Dhuibhne in West Kerry. Filling out the current ensemble are button accordionist Brendan McCarthy and bodhrán player-piper Donnchadh Gough, both from Waterford; flutist Tom Doorley and his bouzouki-fiddle playing brother Eamonn Doorley of Dublin; guitarist Donal Clancy, and Donegal fiddler Oisín MacAuley.

Ireland is a land of many contradictions, and nowhere is this more evident these days than the group Danú: young, hip, fresh, and new­yet steeped in the tradition, soaked with respect for what's come before, and thoroughly grounded in the craft of their art.

A group of seven young bucks such as this might be dismissed as the Backstreet Boyz of Irish trad were it not for the music­with the soul of a rock and roll band and the heartbeat of Irish traditional music. Their music­reel, jig, and song­reaches deep into a place that people have been trying to explain ever since the music was first heard by someone other than the Irish...and perhaps even before then.

The group, inevitably nicknamed The Magnificent Seven, has stirred up critical acclaim wherever they go. Critics note their ability to build seamlessly upon tradition, their facile musicianship. They speak of emotion and strength and they write the sort of prose generally reserved for poems of love. It doesn't matter, nothing seems to faze these lads; on they go to the next tune.

Danú has maintained a breakneck pace, traveling seemingly ceaselessly, recording, struggling to find time for sessions and prolifically writing their own music. They've a new release to get out there come this summer, and their tour schedule is not letting up. Bands come and go, but apparently Danú takes this rather more literally than most. A look at their concert schedule tends to make one think that perhaps there are more busy people than one's self.
Through it all is the thread of the music and the love of that music. Danú flows from strength to strength, from old tune to new, from toe-tapping reel to welling air. There's also a sort of humble pridefulness that lets you know that they'll never be too good for a few tunes in some pub. There's no doubt that these Young Men of Irish music will in the future number among the Old Men that they so clearly respect in the present.

Regional & Local events calendar
This calendar is posted on the web and updated regularly, so please check it often to see what Celtic events are going on!   http://www.moceltic.org/calendar.html

Thursday, January 6 - Open traditional music session at The Chez coffeeehouse
100 Hitt St. in Columbia 7:30 - 11 pm.
Bring your instrument, your dance shoes or just your ears and enthusiasm and join us.

CMCAA Monthly Ceili -- January 14 -- 7 pm at First Christian Church in downtown Columbia.
$5 adults, dancers 14 & under are welcome for free
Please wear clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the dance floor.

Fiddler Tim Langen will be playing music and Kat D'Foxfire will be calling the dances.
Learn more about our monthly dances here:  http://www.moceltic.org/second-fridays.html

Saturday, January 15 - Springfield MO - Annual Robert Burns Dinner, presented by the Springfield St. Andrew's Society.  For more information or to order tickets, please contact Mr. Todd Wilkinson at 417 890 5653

January 22, 2005 --Mid-Missouri St. Andrew's Society Burns Night Celebration (Jefferson City)
  Details will be posted on the web calendar as soon as I have them.

Sunday, January 23 --  CMCAA presents DANU in concert, 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 12 - Kansas City:  The Black Brothers perform for Missouri Valley Folk Life Society www.mvfs.org

Sunday, March 20 - Paddy Keenan and Tommy Sullivan at The Focal Point, St. Louis

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