Celebrating St. Paddy’s Day Early
Tin Can Hooley and Step About Boston put on a show
Watch Tin Can Hooley perform in the video above.
In a showcase of Irish culture, local Celtic rock group Tin Can Hooley will join forces with BU’s Irish step dancing team Step About Boston tonight in anticipation of what is arguably Boston’s wildest holiday. The two groups will perform at Four Green Fields, a new Irish pub near Government Center.
Tin Can Hooley, featuring BU staff member and alum Patrick Kennedy (COM’04), plays traditional Celtic music, including folk, jigs, and rock. Kennedy, the band’s pianist and lead vocalist, accordionist Benny Upton, fiddler Joe Wyatt, percussionist John Donahoe, and guitarist Will Sullivan have played together in various forms for the past decade, but formed the Celtic band just two years ago.
Kennedy says the band appeals to a wide cross-section. “Obviously, a lot of Irish-Americans have interest in our heritage,” he says, “but you don’t have to be Irish to enjoy our music. In fact, our fiddler is Russian and Welsh. It’s essentially the same as saying, ‘I’m not from the South, but I like bluegrass, and I’m not from the Cajun area, but I like that type of music.’”
Kennedy hopes that by teaming up with Step About Boston, his band will draw an even bigger audience. “It should be a good show. It won’t just be a band playing—you’ll get to see some dancing as well,” he says. “For those who haven’t gotten their buzz on and aren’t confident enough to dance yet, we’ll have the Irish step team to encourage them.”
Step About Boston is BU’s only Irish society, but draws members from many cultures and geographical areas. Founded six years ago, the team is open to students of various skill levels. Kennedy approached the group about sharing the stage to put on a show that would appeal to a wider audience.
If anyone needs an incentive to attend, Kennedy points out that Thursday’s performance is “an early show so you can get out of work and go to the pub. Come for dinner and the socializing, stay for the music. It should be a good time. It’s Thursday and close enough to the weekend, so start celebrating early,” he urges.
Tin Can Hooley and Step About Boston will perform at Four Green Fields on Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. Students must be 21 or older. Admission is free. Four Green Fields is at One Boston Place; take the T Green Line B, C, or D trains to Government Center. Phone: 617-367-4747. A menu and other information can be found here.
More info about Tin Can Hooley is here and about Step About Boston here.
John Fichera can be reached at jfichera@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.