The Féile Seamus Creagh festival is spreading its wings again this year and changing some of its venues with two shows set for the Southern Shore this weekend.
On Friday night, the festival will hold an opening concert at the O’Brien’s Tours Stage Head in Bay Bulls. It will feature Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne, Oisin McAuley and Caoimhin O Fearghail of Ireland, Cara Butler of the United States, Jimmy Crowley of Ireland, Graham Wells, Benny McCarthy and Conor Moriarty, the latter two also from Ireland.
On Sunday, September 13, the festival moves to the Folk Arts Council building in Ferryland where John Curran and Greg Walsh of the Masterless Men will take the stage along with the Dunne Family from Ferryland as well as Irish performers Crowley, McCarthy, Oisin McAuley, Caoimhin O Ferghail and Butler, who is American but excels in the Irish step dance.
The festival is also staging shows in Carbonear and St. John’s. The Regina Mundi Centre in Renews was among the venues in previous years.
Keith Mooney of the Southern Shore Folk Arts Council said he expects to see a good night of entertainment in Ferryland given the large and diverse lineup. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They are available in local stores and at the Folk Arts Council’s building.
The festival celebrates traditional music and songs from Newfoundland and Ireland. It’s named after the late Irish fiddle master Seamus Creagh, who played in Newfoundland some years ago. Creagh’s connection to Newfoundland is thanks to Graham Wells, whom he took under his wing when Wells went to Ireland to study music. The pair recorded an album of Newfoundland and Irish tunes in 2002. Wells is the founder of the festival named in Creagh’s honour.
“Graham started this event and it features a great combination of established musicians,” Mooney said. “For Celtic music followers it’s a great opportunity… I attended the shows in Renews and it’s fabulous entertainment. And in this case it’s going to be a well-rounded show because you have the instrumentals and the singing, and you have the step dance, so it’s pretty appealing to a wide range of Irish-Newfoundland music enthusiasts.”
