CLAYMORE & ERIC BOGLE WITH THE GLENBRAE CELTIC DANCERS
Giving their annual festive celebration a ‘bah humbug’ twist, Celtic music royalty Claymore and Eric Bogle are joining forces this year for A Grumpy Celtic Christmas. Don’t be put off by the name, the evening promises to be full-on Celtic Christmas fun – jam-packed with music and dance to celebrate the silly season. Claymore having been bringing together their mates for this annual shindig for a couple of years and it is always a riotous affair. The saying goes that the Celts know how to celebrate, well anything, and it doesn’t get a much bigger family event than Christmas. What started as a planned small get-together has morphed into a highlight on the Celtic music calendar and a Christmas party for one and all.
This year, the Glenbrae Celtic Dancers will help get the dancing started! Eric Bogle leads the ‘bah humbug’ charge with a plethora of Celtic hits. An internationally respected musician, he has been touring the world for the past four decades, from outback Australia to the streets of New York City. In 1986, he was recognised with a United Nations Peace Medal for his contribution, via music, to the cause peace, and in 1987, he was awarded an OAM for his services to the entertainment industry. There is little that Eric Bogle hasn’t achieved throughout his extensive career. He has undertaken eight tours of North America, 11 tours of Europe, four tours of New Zealand and countless Australian tours to boot. During this time, he has played at iconic festivals such as Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Festival Interceltique De Lorient in France, as well as Port Fairy and Woodford back home, to name a few.
Claymore needs little introduction to audiences. Heralded as one of the world’s premier Celtic rock bands, an evening in their company is always an unforgettably loud experience. Claymore’s live shows demand that you are on your feet from the outset. This enigmatic band of multi-instrumentalists not only manages to combine traditional elements of Celtic music, but they take that passion and soul and rock it right into the 21st century. Few bands can pull off the sensitive task of re-educating the traditional realm into the modern-day, but that’s something of a specialty for Claymore. Not only that, but they manage to write beautiful original Celtic compositions, and even lend their style to some power rock classics.
There is little that Claymore hasn’t done throughout their career. They have a host of impressive album releases under their belt and a long list of festival performances to their name. Since the band’s inception more than two decades ago, they’ve released five impressive albums, and performed internationally from gigs in New York, Scotland and New Zealand, to several headline appearances at the reputed Festival Interceltique De Lorient France. Combine this with performances at the biggest festivals on the Australian circuit and you’ve got an impressive musical resume.
For Claymore lead singer William Hutton says the band didn’t expect A Celtic Christmas to be such a popular event, and it has, in fact, become something of an unofficial Christmas party for Claymore. “We weren’t expecting it to be like this, but every year we have been contacted by people asking when A Celtic Christmas is,” he says. “It has become a bit of a monster we can’t control. Now all our Claymore family and friends make sure the date is part of their festive calendar! We’re ‘grumpy’ this year because Eric Bogle is a notorious humbug at Christmas! However, it will be anything but grumpy – we are going to have a lot of fun. We will also do a few Christmas songs as well.”
Tickets for A Grumpy Celtic Christmas are on sale now.
Friday 20th December 2019 | 7.30 pm
Memo Music Hall, ST KILDA VIC
www.memomusichall.com.au
