Lunasa
Englert Theatre – Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. ($22-25)
Iowa City, get ready for some top notch world music this Saturday — the traditional Irish folk band Lunasa are heading to The Englert Theatre.
The entirely instrumental quintet have made a name for themselves across the globe after seventeen years of relentless touring (over 1500 shows!) and a dedication to their craft. The five members of Lunasa have vastly varying musical backgrounds — their bassist played in The Waterboys and, Sean Smyth, one of the band’s founders, is an All-Ireland champion on fiddle and whistle.
The interplay between modern rock and traditional sounds is a trope used to describe just about every single popular world music act, but Lunasa actually do balance the two incredibly well, with a powerful rhythm section that helps prop up (rather than obscure) the flute and traditional pipes at the center of the songs.
Yet, despite their contemporary sound, the band rejects any “jazz” categorizations they’ve been given. In an interview with Rootsworld.com, Sean Smyth explains how the band approaches the traditional songs they play:
We’re always trying to blend the new and the old, and though it makes some people uncomfortable we’re very, very true to the way the old melodies are, when we play them. We don’t do any jazz or blues revampings or anything like that, though we do blend in some new melodies and harmonies, and of course added the rhythm section.
Did I mention Lunasa has played such renowned venues as The Hollywood Bowl, the Sydney Opera House, and the friggin’ White House?
The show begins at 8 p.m., with tickets going for $22 in advance and $25 at the door.
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