For those of you who may not know, this coming Tuesday is St. Patrick's Day - a day to revel in the sheer glory of Ireland and all that Irish culture has bestowed upon us. As I have also been told, St. Patrick's Day is an excuse to get shitfaced on a Tuesday while drinking green beer. Plenty of events will come this Tuesday, including a concert at Tempe Beach Park as well as overall mayhem at the various Irish bars located throughout the Valley. While the majority of the population - especially in a college environment - tends to focus on the alcohol aspect of St. Patty's Day (who can blame them?), Irish music is as important an aspect of the celebration as anything else. The Valley has quite a selection of Irish music for the coming weekend and St. Patty's Day, so I will take an opportunity to point out the different events that will feature some delightful Irish music.
The 26th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade & Faire of Phoenix, Arizona takes place this Saturday starting at 10 AM. The day will be filled with a nice lineup of Irish music, starting at 10 and going strong through 4 PM. Some of the better known acts performing are The Biffos from Scottsdale, the Keltic Cowboys from Mesa and Shay Veno, of the Clare Voyants, also from Scottsdale. A full music lineup is available at the event's website. Saturday is a busy day for all things Irish - sort of like a warmup for Tuesday. The Irish Rovers will be playing at the Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center later that night. Many of the bands that will be playing all over the Valley will be playing sets this Friday and Saturday at various Irish establishments such as Tim Finnegans, Rúla Búla, Fibber Magees and Rosie McCaffrey's.
While I recognize the utter importance of the concert taking place at Tempe Beach Park on Tuesday, I also recognize that the Valley has a pretty deep lineup of Irish music to enjoy. And what's St. Patty's Day and the days leading up to it without some authentic Irish music? The Arizona Irish Music Society does a bang-up job of keeping track of everything Irish music-related in the Valley. Their insistence on keeping things run smoothly shows in the plethora of acts and happenings available that will celebrate this culturally significant and - most importantly - overall fun event we call St. Patty's Day.
