Don't miss this special evening where we’ll take a musical trip to Dublin with some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians and singers! Eamonn Flynn, Darcy Noonan, Hector Bragado and Felim Egan will dazzle us with their traditional and original "Dublinesque" harmonies. OCA favorites through and through, we're just delighted to bring back this spirited, talented group.
Tickets are $25, $20 for OCA members. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Refreshments available, art gallery open during intermission.
EAMONN FLYNN & DUBLINESQUE
Eamonn Flynn forges his own brand of Irish soul. The Dublin-born singer-songwriter/pianist got his start with The Commitments, a hit film about an Irish soul band, and has since worked with American blues and R&B stars Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Evelyn Champagne King, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters), The Ray Charles Project, and many more.
Flynn's new quartet DUBLINESQUE brings his deep soul and gospel roots together with the Irish music traditions he was raised on.
"Dublinesque is my attempt to recreate the kind of parties we had in my parent's house, growing up in Dublin," explains Flynn. "There'd be neighbours and friends and it would always end up as a sing-song/jam session. Everyone would participate - if you couldn't hold a tune you'd perform a 'recitation' or tell a joke!
"There was never any delineation between genres of music - whether it was Irish tunes and ballads, soul music or a Beatles song," he emphasizes.
The band brings together three talented Bay Area Irish traditional musicians: fellow Irishman Félim Egan (The Black Brothers) on accordion, local favorite Darcy Noonan on fiddle, and from Basque country, Spain, Hector Bragado on banjo. They are also sometimes joined by special guests. Previous guests have included Glide Memorial Choir, Maria Muldaur, Mary Black, Róisín O, Michael Black, Shay Black, Autumn Rhodes, Margaret Graham and dancers from the Kennelly, Dillon and Whelan Schools of Irish Dance and the Cooley-Keegan Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí.
"This is my chance to play with some of my favorite musicians and recreate those parties!" says Flynn.
Flynn's latest of three solo albums is 'Anywhere But Home,' celebrating Dublin from his San Francisco pandemic perspective. It received praise and widespread airplay in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.
"Flynn's songwriting moves with true emotional register across history, folklore and poetry…with grit and true Dublin savvy.” Deirdre Cronin - Irish Music Magazine