Along with their deep repertoire of Irish and Irish-American folk music, the five members of Solas are bringing the last remnants of jet lag to the UnCommon Jam festival in Newbury, Vt., on Sunday.
Now co-founder Seamus Egan hopes that his bandmates can release any tension lingering from their recent tour of France, where troubadors and audiences alike tried not to worry about the next terrorist strike.
“You can’t help but notice that there’s heightened security in the airports, more military on the streets,” Egan said on Sunday, during a telephone interview between appearances at the Milwaukee Irish Fest, where Solas began the U.S. tour in support of its 20th anniversary album, All These Years. “Some of the festivals we played there we’d played before, and now the towns were pretty cordoned off. You couldn’t get anywhere without the right passes and so forth.”
Solas could at least give their French listeners some artistic distraction and comfort — and receive some in return.
“The responses from the audience were fantastic,” Egan said. “When we’re feeling a bit anxious while we travel, the best part of our day is when we’re onstage playing. That benefits our well-being. And for the audience to get lost in the music for a few hours, it’s always needed.
“In the times we find ourselves in, it’s needed more than ever.”
You don’t need to be fretting over terror abroad or at home, among other current disasters and uncertainties, to appreciate this rare visit to Vermont from a band that lives up to its name, Gaelic for light.
Only Egan (who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistles, guitar and bodhran) and violinist-singer Winifred Horan remain from the original ensemble that formed in 1996. And yet the band continues to blend Irish tradition and 21st-century rhythms from around the world with guitarist/keyboardist/singer Eamon McElholm, accordionist Mick McAuley and, since her arrival in 2015, energetic lead singer and banjo player Moira Smiley.
The current ensemble is running on the momentum of All These Years, a compilation of 17 songs recorded during the spring and early summer of 2015. During one-day sessions in several locations, including Philadelphia, Ireland and Indiana, they reunited with former lead singer Karan Casey and other alumni on songs they’d been cyber-trading back and forth for the better part of a year.
“It’s all new material,” Egan said. “We didn’t want to do a best-of package, which is usually the norm.”
On Sunday afternoon in Newbury, the audience can count on a mix of old and new from Solas, as well as from a festival lineup that South Newbury-based fiddler Patrick Ross will lead off at 2.
Just don’t expect Solas, which arrived on the Celtic music scene around the same time as Riverdance was broadening and deepening the genre, to trot out chestnuts along the lines of Danny Boy.
“There’s more acceptance of pushing the boundaries,” Egan said. “Irish music never became this museum piece behind glass. It’s definitely not a fragile music. It’s been through phases and influences, but the core of it never, never weakens.”
The UnCommon Jam Festival takes over the common in Newbury, Vt., on Sunday afternoon from 2 to 7. Performers preceding Solas to the stage will be South Newbury, Vt. fiddler Patrick Ross and Washington, Vt. guitarist Doug Perkins. The Adirondacks-based funk-soul-rock band Painted Sol will close the jam. For tickets ($20 for ages 13 and older) and more information, visit alumnihall.org.
Lebanon bids farewell to the season with its annual Summer Celebration, centered in Colburn Park, this afternoon and tonight. The festivities begin with live music accompanying the Lebanon Farmers’ Market between 4 and 7, then a Dance Fest for which The Conniption Fits will set the rhythm between 7 and 8:30. The observance concludes at 8:45 with a display of fireworks on the slopes of the Storrs Hill ski area. For more information, visit recreation.lebnh.net.
Amid the bagpiping, step-dancing, sheep-dogging and weight-tossing competitions and the sales of Scottish memorabilia and food, this Saturday’s Quechee Highland Games — the new incarnation of the venerable Quechee Scottish Festival — offers doses of traditional and hybrid Celtic music at the Quechee polo field. Fiddler Lissa Schneckenberger leads a workshop about her instrument at 10 a.m., after which the Celtic-rock fusion band Prydein performs in the beer tent at 11:15 and in the entertainment tent at 12:45. Also, Atlantic Crossing takes the stage in the entertainment tent at 1:45, then sets the rhythm while Maggie Carchrie calls the steps for ceilidh dancing at about 3.
Admission to the festival, which opens with a solo piping competition at 8:30 a.m. and ends with a parade of all the pipe bands serenading the closing ceremonies, is $10 to $15. For more information, visit quecheegames.com.
The Friends of Norman Williams Public Library host their second annual Puppies and Pooches on Parade on the village green in Woodstock on Saturday morning from 10:30 to noon. In addition to prizes for canine winners in a variety of categories, a raffle will be held. To register a dog for the parade and any competitions, email fraserusa@gmail.com.
In a benefit concert for the Enfield Shaker Museum, The Ken & Brad Kolodner Trio performs progressive Appalachian and original music at the museum on Saturday night at 7. For tickets ($25) and more information, call 603-632-4346, visit shakermuseum.org or email education@shakermuseum.org. For more information about the ensemble, visit kenandbrad.com.
Camerata New England will open its eighth season of chamber-music concerts over Labor Day weekend, with cellist Linda Galvan, pianist Evelyn Zuckerman and violinist Omar Chen Guey performing works of Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Hummel and Anton Arensky at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Norwich on Sept. 3 and at Alumni Hall in Haverhill on Sept. 4. For tickets ($28 for adults) to and more information about the Norwich concert, which starts at 7 p.m., call 802-785-4833 or visit cameratanewengland.org. To order tickets ($22 to $24) and learn more about the Alumni Hall performance, which starts at 2 p.m., call 603-989-5500.
New London Barn Playhouse continues its final production of the 2016 season with performances of the marital farce Don’t Dress For Dinner tonight, Friday night and Saturday night at 7:30, Sunday afternoon at 5, Tuesday night at 7:30, Wednesday afternoon at 2 and Wednesday night at 7:30. The season ends Sept. 4. For tickets ($20 to $29) and more information, visit nlbarn.org or call 603-526-6710.
Dan Gilbert hosts the monthly open-mic night of comedy at Salt hill Pub in Lebanon on Monday night at 8.
Riddim Vigil serenades the Feast and Field Market in Barnard with a dose of reggae tonight from 5:30 to 7:30.
The 24th annual Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival continues tonight at 7 at Randolph’s Chandler Music Hall, with an admission-free open rehearsal by the visiting performers. And on Friday night at 7:30, Upper Valley accordionist Jeremiah McLane and pianist Annemieke McLane perform in the Chandler’s Upper Gallery; admission is by donation. The McLanes then play a concert for kids at the Chandler on Saturday morning at 10:30.
The homestretch of the festival includes a program of string quartets of Strauss, Dvorak and Gershwin at the Chandler on Saturday night at 7, and a Breakfast with Bach program that begins with the meal at 11 a.m., in the Chandler’s Esther Mesh room and ends with a performance at 12:30 of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 at the Bethany Church across Main Street, where admission is by donation. For more information about the festival, visit centralvtchambermusicfest.org.
On Friday night at 7, New London-raised singer-songwriter Click Horning returns to the Lake Sunapee region with his trio to perform the final concert of the summer coffeehouse series at the Harbor House Livery in Sunapee Harbor. Admission is by donation.
Guitarists Tom Pirozzoli and Kit Creeger serenade the 43rd annual Apple Pie Crafts Fair on the common in Newport on Saturday. The fair, hosted by Newport’s Library Arts Center, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information about other activities at the fair, visit libraryartscenter.org/applepie.
Claremont Summerfest’s series of concerts benefiting the Arrowhead Recreation Area concludes on Saturday afternoon with the Led-Zeppelin cover band Kashmir performing on the green at the Claremont Visitor Center. Blabpipe opens the show at 4. For more information, visit claremontsummerfest.com.
The East Bay Jazz Ensemble plays on the Flanders Stage in Sunapee Harbor on Saturday evening from 5 to 7.
Songwriter-activitst David Rosane joins forces with the American Zookeepers — aka the Bradford duo of Don and Jenn Sinclair — to play punk-infused Americana on Saturday night at 7:30, during the final summer concert at the ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret. Admission is $10. To learn more, visit artistreevt.org.
The Kingston Trio performs its deep and broad reservoir of folk classics at the Flying Monkey Performance Center in Plymouth, N.H., on Saturday night at 7:30. For tickets ($39 to $45) and more information, visit flyingmonkeynh.com or call 603-536-2551.
The Brass Connection closes the summer series of chamber concerts at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish on Sunday afternoon at 2, playing in the Little Studio to the theme of “Blue Skies, Broadway and Beyond.” Admission is included in the $7 entry fee to the site.
Sunday afternoon at 4, organist Krista Rakich performs works of Bach at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College in Hanover.
Smoke and Mirrors covers rock classics at the Newport Town Common on Sunday night at 6.
The Shana Stack Band casts country rhythms around the Grantham Recreation Park on Tuesday night at 6.
Wednesday night at 6:30, Mo’Combo performs R&B, blues and New Orleans bayou funk at the Ben Mere Bandstand overlooking Sunapee Harbor.
Guitarist Ed Eastridge accompanies singer Lydia Gray at the Canoe Club in Hanover at 6:30 tonight. Following them to the microphone over the coming week with shows from 6:30 to 9:30 are pianist Randall Mullen on Friday, pianist William Ogmundson on Saturday, the jazz trio of saxophonist George Rice and pianist Fred Haas and bass player David Westphalen on Sunday and guitarist Bruce Gregori on Tuesday.
Fifth Business performs indie rock at the Boho Cafe in downtown White River Junction tonight between 7 and 10, followed Friday night at 7:30 by a set of Americana from The Shugarmakers.
The Whiskey Geese duo of guitarists Dane Anderson and Tyler Wayne pulls into Windsor Station tonight at 7. Following them to the venue over the coming week are The Youngest Sun with a set of rock, funk and experimental music on Friday night at 9:30, Cornerstone on Saturday night at 10 and Jonny O on Tuesday night at 6.
Royalton singer-songwriter Alison “AliT” Turner appears at Bentley’s restaurant in Woodstock tonight at 8, followed Friday night at 8 by singer-pianist Jamie Ward.
Singer-songwriter Rick Clogston performs in the tavern at Jesse’s in Hanover on Friday night at 5.
The Lefty Yunger Blues Band plays at Skunk Hollow Tavern in Hartland Four Corners on Friday night starting at 9.
The Friday night lineup at the Upper Valley’s Salt hill Pubs features the rock trio Wherehouse and Enfield-raised singer-songwriter Brooks Hubbard in Lebanon, singer-guitarist Jim Hollis in Hanover and singer-songwriter Paul Cataldo in Newport. Stepping to the microphone on Saturday night are Borderstone in Newport, About Gladys with a set of rock and funk in Hanover and The Squids in Lebanon. All shows start at 9.
Soulfix plays the Farmer’s Table in Grantham on Saturday night from 7 to 10.
Frydaddy frontman Carlos Ocasio performs at the Loch Lyme Lodge in Lyme on Sunday night; for reservations ($8 for ages 5 to 12 and $22 for ages 13 through adult), which cover the buffet dinner that starts at 6, call 603-795-2141.
Ramunto’s Brick & Brew Pizza in Bridgewater hosts an open mic starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Participants get a free large cheese pizza.
String players of all ages and abilities are welcome at the weekly acoustic jam session at South Royalton’s BALE Commons on Friday night from 6:30 to 10.
Joe Stallsmith leads a weekly hootenanny of Americana, folk and bluegrass at Salt hill Pub in Hanover on Monday nights at 6.
Kerry Rosenthal hosts the monthly acoustic jam session at ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret on Tuesday night from 7 to 9. Singers as well as instrumentalists are welcome. While admission is free, donations are appreciated. For more information, visit artistreevt.org.
Bradford’s Colatina Exit holds an open mic on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
The Seven Barrel Brewery in West Lebanon runs an open mic on Tuesday nights, beginning at 8.
Jim Yeager hosts an open mic at Hartland’s Skunk Hollow Tavern, at 8:30 on Wednesday nights.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.comand at 603-727-3304.