Armstrong's FOLK series continues as Ireland's premier musical ambassadors and six-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains bring to Edmond their infectious melodies and driving rhythms that have won them legions of adoring fans worldwide.

Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music very quickly captured a much broader public, making them today the best known Irish band in the world.

Come enjoy an evening of music "as crisp and bubbly as a pint of freshly poured Irish ale" (Dayton Daily News) with the Chieftains!

The Chieftains bio

The Chieftains, are recognized for bringing traditional Irish music to the world's attention. They have uncovered the wealth of traditional Irish music that has accumulated over the centuries, making the music their own with a style that is as exhilarating as it is definitive. This has led the Chieftains to being officially named Ireland’s Musical Ambassadors, as they have become the standard bearers of the Irish folk music tradition. The winners of six GRAMMY awards, The Chieftains have been nominated for a total of eighteen, and have also won an Emmy and a Genie award. In 1975, The Chieftains recorded the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, featuring the hit single “Women Of Ireland,” for which they won an Academy Award.

The Chieftains were formed in 1962 by Paddy Moloney, from the ranks of the top folk musicians in Ireland.  Paddy brought together musicians such as fiddler Martin Fay, flautist Michael Tubridy, tin whistle virtuoso Seán Potts, and bodhrán player David Fallon. Named after the book, “Death of a Chieftain,” by Irish author John Montague, they formed originally to record a one-off instrumental album. But their ongoing popularity in Ireland motivated the group to reunite five years later with some additional artists, fiddler Seán Keane, and Peader Mercier. The much beloved, Derek Bell, brilliant Irish harpist, and noted raconteur came on board in 1973 (he died in 2002 and is missed to this day by his colleagues). It wasn't until 1975 that The Chieftains became a full time ensemble, beginning an illustrious touring career with a historic performance in Albert Hall in London. The following few years saw the departure of Mercier, and the addition of bodhrán player and vocalist Kevin Conneff, and another lineup change in '78/79 with the departure of Potts and Tubridy and a new flautist, Matt Molloy.

Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music very quickly captured a much broader public, making them today the best known Irish band in the world.  Never afraid to shock purists and push boundaries, over time The Chieftains have amassed a dizzingly varied discography. They have been involved in such historic events as a tour of China (the first Western group to perform on the Great Wall) and Roger Waters' "The Wall" performance in Berlin in 1990. They became the first group to give a concert in the Capitol Building in Washington DC (at the invitation of former Speaker, Thomas "Tip" O' Neill) and performed at a memorial service in October in New York for the victims of September 11. In 1979, The Chieftains welcomed Pope John Paul II to Ireland with a performance in his honor that was seen by 135 million viewers around the world. They have performed with some of the finest symphony orchestras worldwide and have broken many musical boundaries by collaborating and performing with some of the biggest names in rock, pop and traditional music in Ireland and around the world.

In 2010, The Chieftains released their latest album on The Concord Music Group, a collaboration with guitarist/producer Ry Cooder entitled “San Patricio.” The album was named after the San Patricio battalion, a group of Irish immigrant conscripts who deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side in the Mexican-American War. An extraordinary collaboration with many of the most distinguished  Mexican and Mexican-American  musicians including Lila Downs, Los Tigres Del Norte, Los Cenzontles and Carlos Nunez, as well as narration by Liam Neeson and a piece featuring Linda Rondstadt. A commercial and critical success, the album sold over 60,000 copies in North America and made number 37 in the Billboard 200, the highest charting of all fifty eight of The Chieftains’ albums. Extraordinarily, “San Patricio” was the subject of a St. Patrick’s Day 2010 New York Times Editorial which celebrated the unlikely juxtaposition between the Irish and the Mexicans, “The rest is joy, thoroughly Mexican yet utterly Irish, carried aloft by tin whistles, skin drums, pipes, harps, guitars and stomping feet. It’s a mix you’ve never heard, but eerily familiar….We are all people who have lost our land in one sad way and found another. Whether we lament and celebrate in a pub or cantina, whether our tricolor flag has a cactus on it or not, we are closer to one another than we remember.”

In 2012, The Chieftains will celebrate their 50th Anniversary with extensive touring in Europe and North America, culminating with a concert presented by Carnegie Hall on March 17. The Chieftains’ live concerts are popular the world over and known for the scope of music performed, the grace and humor of the artists and the visiting dancers and pipe bands that participate throughout.  Paddy Moloney is a uilleann pipe virtuoso as well as serving as the master of ceremonies. Joining him are long time Chieftains Matt Molloy on flute, Sean Keane on violin, and Kevin Conneff as the rhythmic and vocal heartbeat of the ensemble on the bodhrán. Over the past few seasons, they have been touring with Ottowa Valley step dance and fiddle sensations Nathan and Jon Pilatzke, the sensational dancer Cara Butler, who has graced The Chieftains’ stage for nearly 20 years, as well as extraordinary harpist and keyboardist, Triona Marshall.

The trappings of fame have not altered The Chieftains' love of, and loyalty to, their roots –  they are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. After all these years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains' music remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began.

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