FitzGerald’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration

Join us for our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday, March 16. This is a day for the whole family and all ages are invited.

There will be performances by The Dooley Brothers, Fitz & the Celts, The Belvederes, Cannonball and The Shannon Rovers. The Mayer School Stepdancers with Paul and Mary McHugh will perform in the afternoon and there will be traditional St. Patrick's Day fare — cooked up by ‘Festival’ Tom Cimms — in our heated festival tents, and plenty of Guinness, Smithwicks and other favorites.

Doors open at 1 p.m. Admission is $10, $5 (12 and under). No advance tickets just pay at the door. FitzGerald’s is at 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn.

THE LINE-UP FEATURES

IN THE TENT:

Mayer School Irish Dancers with Paul McHugh and Mary Mayer McHugh (2-6 pm):Stepdancers from the school under the direction of Mary McHugh present their annual showcase of Irish dance. Many students from the Mayer School have placed at regional and national championships and several have gone to Ireland to compete in the All-Ireland and World Championships. Each year, the school grows and the list of accomplishments grows as well. Paul and Mary perform music for the dancers; Paul performs during breaks. http://www.mayerschool.com/

The Dooley Brothers (7-11 pm): In the mid-‘60s, the Dooley Brothers entered the thriving folk music scene in Old Town and the North Side of Chicago, playing in the same circle of clubs as the likes of Steve Goodman and John Prine. In the 80s, the Dooleys released their first album, A Place in My Heart, consisting of mostly original acoustic folk-jazz songs, complemented with some of the best-known sidemen in Chicago. They split their performing between rock, etc. clubs to straight-out Irish pubs and venues. In the mid-80s, they released an Irish and American folk album, featuring many songs and tunes from the west of Ireland. At the beginning of the 90s, the Dooleys released a collection of original songs, and also a variety of folk and calypso that they were performing in clubs. Today, the Dooley Brothers are still singing and working on many new projects. http://www.dooleybrothers.com/

IN THE CLUB:

Fitz & the Celts (3-5 pm): Fitz & the Celts Fitz & the Celts has been a staple of the Irish music scene in Chicago for over 15 years. Combining traditional Irish songs and tunes, as well as rocked up covers from artists such as The Pogues, Hothouse Flowers and The Waterboys, the band delivers Irish music with a punch. The band has performed regularly at the top Midwest festivals including the Chicago Irish Fest, Milwaukee Irish Fest and Irish American Heritage Center Irish Fest. They have also been a regular house band at some of the city’s premier Irish music clubs, most notably The Abbey Pub on the city’s northwest side. Several members of the band have toured with the Trinity Irish Dancers and with recording artists such as Michael McDermott.

The Belvederes (6 and 9 pm): Raised on a healthy diet of garage rock, power-pop, roots, rockabilly, honky-tonk and Ssoul – John Michael Ford (lead vocals, guitar), Joe Alonzo (drums, vocals) and Tyler Kock (bass guitar, vocals) came together during the early months of 2011 and presented a simple, clear-cut mission statement: Make people feel good. They believe that if you're gonna do this work, you’d better do it right and give the audience more than what they paid for. Spring of 2015 saw the addition of Joe Nocchi on guitar, whose song-savvy sensibilities have proven invaluable to the group. Dynamic playing, tight harmonies, dance floor-friendly energy and lots of love are what you can expect to experience at a Belvederes show.

Cannonball (7:30 and 10:30 pm): Cannonball is a group of musicians based in Chicago who connect with the same rock sensibilities and merriment to create an explosive sound rooted in the American folk tradition of blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll and all their offspring — hillbilly, rock-a-billy, folk rock, psychedelic, punk. They play a mixture of original songs and interpretations of personal favorites that veer from swinging rock ‘n’ roll to swaying country blues with detours down musical guitar exchanges between the dual lead guitarists that ride on a freight train rhythm bed.

Also the Shannon Rovers will stop by mid-evening.

Shannon Rovers: For more than 75 years, the Irish bagpipe band has been a cultural fixture in the Chicagoland area. The band is made up of seventy plus pipers, drummers and color guard. Membership has passed from generation to generation and includes plumbers, social workers, bankers, lawyers, electricians, doctors and celebrities to name but a few. The common thread that seems to hold it all together is the genuine love of traditional Irish music. http://www.shannonrovers.com/