Northwest Arkansas (February 2, 2011) – Walton Arts Center is proud to welcome six-time Grammy Award-winning Irish folk group The Chieftains to Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall Sunday, February 27 at 7pm. This performance is part of The Chieftains’ 2011 U.S. tour, which will feature an array of surprise guests and local musicians and marks the band’s first return to the states following last year’s release of their critically acclaimed album San Patricio. Tickets range from $46 to $72 and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.
“In 2011, The Chieftains’ performances could be better described as a Big Show or a Spectacular rather than a concert,” says frontman Paddy Moloney. “There will be upwards of 12 people on stage at all times, with additions of local musicians, special guests I’m not allowed to divulge, anywhere from 6 to 20 local dancers on a couple of pieces, and the Scottish pipe bands performing the “March to Battle,” which was narrated by Liam Neeson for San Patricio.”
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. 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 the group formed in 1962.
In their 40 years together, The Chieftains have amassed countless recordings and awards. On top of their six Grammies, in their own country by being officially named Ireland’s Musical Ambassadors, performed during the Pope’s visit to Ireland in 1979 in front of a 135,000,000 strong audience, and were the subject of a tribute Late Late Show in 1987, their 25th anniversary. They have been involved in such historic events as a tour of China (the first Western group to perform on the Great Wall), Roger Waters’ “The Wall” performance in Berlin in 1990, became the first group to give a concert in the Capitol Building of Washington DC, (at the invitation of former Speaker, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill), and more recently, Paddy performed a memorial service in October in New York for the victims of September 11th 2001. They have also performed with many symphony and folk 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.
The Chieftains consist of founding member Paddy Moloney (lead vocals, Uilleann pipes and tin whistle), Sean Keane (fiddle), Kevin Connett (vocals and bodhran) and Matt Malloy (flute). To learn more about The Chieftains, visit thechieftains.com.
The Chieftains are sponsored by E. & J. Gallo Winery with media support by NWA Media. For more information about this performance or others, contact the Walton Arts Center Box Office by calling 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.
Walton Arts Center is Arkansas’ premier center for the performing arts and entertainment. Each year more than 140,000 people from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and beyond attend over 350 public events at Walton Arts Center, including performances, rehearsals, community gatherings, receptions, graduations and more. Approximately 20,000 students and teachers from 30 school districts participate annually in arts learning programs at Walton Arts Center, and over 300 volunteers donate more than 15,000 hours of time each year to its operations. Walton Arts Center presents entertainers and artists from around the world including Broadway musicals, renowned dance companies, international artists, up-and-coming jazz musicians and more. As a non-profit organization, Walton Arts Center enjoys the generous support of public sector funding, corporate sponsorship and private donors, allowing audience members to pay on average only 50% of the cost of programs offered. To learn more about Walton Arts Center, visit www.waltonartscenter.org.
