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Let the Shenanigans begin! The Celtic Rock Festival presented by Rob Levine & Associates, The Heavy Hitter® will feature 8-hours of live music as part of the Providence Event Series next Saturday, September 10th at the ALEX AND ANI City Center in downtown Providence’s Kennedy Plaza. Gates open at 2:00 p.m. with Pendragon kicking off the celebration of Irish culture at 2:30 p.m., followed by Tartan Terrors at 4:30 p.m. and The Town Pants at 6:30 p.m. Grammy award-winning fiddle sensation Eileen Ivers will bring the revelry to new heights starting at 8:30 p.m. Between each set Festival-goers will be entertained by members of the Kelly School of Irish Dance and a thundering pipe & drum band. In addition to the music and step dancing there will be plenty of libations, hearty traditional Irish and Festival fare, a Marketplace of Irish artisan goods and a Celtic Rock KidSTOP which will feature face painting for the wee ones.
“We are excited to bring a variety of Celtic music and Irish culture to the heart of downtown Providence, especially Eileen Ivers who has established herself as the greatest Irish fiddle player in the world today,” said Michele Maker Palmieri, President and CEO of Waterfront Productions, the parent company of Rhode Island Waterfront Events who has produced the event for four years, formerly at the Newport Yachting Center.
Eileen Ivers is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, musical star of Riverdance and founding member of “Cherish the Ladies”. Called the “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by The New York Times, she is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and World music genres. Ivers’ recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores, including Gangs of New York. Her latest CD, Beyond the Bog Road, celebrates the journey of the Irish immigrant’s impact on America and America’s impact on the Irish immigrant.
The rest of the Celtic Rock Festival musical line-up is as follows:
North America’s premiere Celtic act, the Tartan Terrors, are best known for taking traditional Celtic music and dance, mixing it with rock ‘n’ roll and blending in their own unique Scottish comedy. Bolstered by the blistering bagpiping, guitar and fiddle as well as driving tones of drums from around the globe, audiences understand why Celtic Beat magazine hails them as “the heir apparent to the [Celtic] mayhem”. They have performed throughout the world for audiences that have included President Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as on the popular show, Good Morning America.
The Vancouver, Canada-based band, The Town Pants, combines aspects of Irish traditional, acoustic pop and roots Americana to create their own unique, fiery brand of “West Coast Celtic”. Known for its legendary live shows, they performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and are a favorite at Celtic and Irish festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. The Town Pants’ most recent CD release is entitled Connections which features the band’s favorite rowdy sing-a-long songs.
Now in its 33rd year, Pendragon has embraced New England’s rich tradition of Celtic-inspired music and created a timeless sound of its own, performing roots music with an unmistakable contemporary edge. The band seamlessly blend jigs and reels with original songs which celebrate the lives and lore of generations of New Englanders who brought traditions from Ireland, Scotland, French Canada and other distant shores to the banks of the Blackstone River. Pendragon, who has been voted Best Celtic Act and Best Local Folk Act of the Year by the readers of Motif magazine and the Providence Phoenix, respectively, creates its music on a combination of fiddle, flute, bouzouki, concertina, banjo, guitar, whistle and percussion. The band’s most recent CD release is Live at the Blackstone Valley Theatre.
All Celtic Rock Festival tickets are general admission with no reserved seating and are available for $25 in advance and $35 the day of the Festival. Kids under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. Re-entry to the event is allowed throughout the day. Tickets can be purchased online at www.riwaterfrontevents.com by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or by visiting one of our ticket locations in Newport, Warwick and South County: RI Waterfront Events box office located at 4 Commercial Wharf in Newport; the Grid Iron Ale House and Grille, 1599 Post Road in Warwick; and Looney Tunes, 562 Kingstown Road in Wakefield (cash only at Looney Tunes and cash & credit accepted at other locations). Box office hours vary so please visit www.riwaterfrontevents.com for the latest updates. Tickets will also be available the day before and the day-of the event at the ALEX AND ANI City Center box office located at 2 Kennedy Plaza, Downtown Providence, at the entrance of the venue.
The formation of the Providence Event Series presented by Rob Levine & Associates, the Heavy Hitter® was announced earlier this summer by Waterfront Productions/Rhode Island Waterfront Events, the City of Providence, the Providence Parks and Recreation Department and the ALEX AND ANI City Center. The rest of the Providence Event Series line-up to date is as follows: Third Eye Blind, Thursday, September 1st at 6:30 p.m., $38 advance/$48 day of event; Ziggy Marley, Friday, September 23rd at 6:30 p.m., $32.50 advance/$42.50 day of event; and the International Oktoberfest, the weekend of September 24th and 25th, Saturday, noon to 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., $20 advance/$25 day of event and Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m., $17 advance/$20 day of event. Weekender Passes to the Oktoberfest are also available for $30 in advance or $40 day-of event. Kids under 12 years of age are $12 with a paying adult on Saturday and free on Sunday.
RIPTA is the official transportation of the Providence Event Series at the ALEX AND ANI City Center and offers a Rock & Ride Program for concert and festival attendees. Riders simply ask the bus or trolley driver for a RIPTA rider receipt as proof the ride was to a Providence Event Series event and then present if at the venue’s Box Office to receive a FREE prize compliments of RIPTA.
In addition to Rob Levine & Associates, The Heavy Hitter®, the other sponsors and partners of the Celtic Rock Festival are the ALEX AND ANI City Center, RIPTA/Commuter Resource RI, Heineken, Horizon Beverage, Pepsi, The City of Providence and The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and GoLocal24.
The ALEX AND ANI City Center, located at 2 Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence, is managed by the Providence Parks and Recreation Department and operates all year-round. The summer event season extends from April through October with rental space available for public and private events. The winter ice skating season begins in November and continues through March. Visit alexandanicitycenter.com for all summer event information as well as details on ice skating reservations and advertising opportunities.
Waterfront Productions, LLC, headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, specializes in event management/production and venue operation and is the parent company of Rhode Island Waterfront Events and Newport Waterfront Events. The events Waterfront Productions owns and manages include the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, the Waterfront Reggae Festival at India Point Park in Providence and The Providence Event Series presented by Rob Levine & Associates, The Heavy Hitter®, at the ALEX AND ANI City Center. In addition, Waterfront Productions owns and operates the Newport Skating Center in downtown Newport. The Waterfront Productions team has co-produced a variety of other events over the past ten years, including the Newport Comedy Series, the WBRU Concert Series at Providence Piers, the Food Truck Festival, the Newport International Boat Show and the Newport Charter Yacht Show, and offers event management consulting services.
For more information on the Providence Event Series presented by Rob Levine & Associates, the Heavy Hitter® , please visit www.riwaterfrontevents.com, contact Michele Maker Palmieri, President and CEO of Waterfront Productions, LLC via email at mmaker@newportwaterfrontevents.com or call (888) 900-8640, Ext. 709. To receive future Rhode Island Waterfront Events and Newport Waterfront Events announcements, presale opportunities or exclusive packages, sign up at riwaterfrontevents.com and become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/waterfrontevents, Instagram and Twitter.
