The Celtic Cafe's "Featured Artists of the Month" focus in October is on LÚNASA,
a group of some of Ireland's finest young musicians.

Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is reaping countless new fans as they tour in conjunction with the release of their new CD "Otherworld."

Their first CD, self-titled "Lúnasa," is great, but "Otherworld" is terrific and is sure to help drive them into mainstream awareness. This CD includes the brilliant Kevin Crawford, who adds so much to live performances as "front man." His musical talents on flute, whistles and bodhran would be more than enough to entertain an audience but his cheerful interaction with the other band members and the audience makes an evening with Lúnasa all the more enjoyable.

I first had the pleasure of seeing them in the spring at the Aladdin Theater and then again a couple of weeks ago at the wonderfully unique setting of the St. John's Pub in Portland, Oregon, and both times it was "the Craic," as they say. I can't wait to see them when they tour here in the U.S. again in a few months, but meanwhile, for those of you in Ireland and England, don't miss them as they open for the Saw Doctors over the next several weeks.

Click here for photos from Lunasa's Craic at the St. John's Pub in Portland, Oregon!

You can check out Lúnasa's Tour Schedule
by clicking here.

These lads come out of some other great Irish bands, and in fact, Kevin Crawford is also still with Moving Cloud as well as Lúnasa. Trevor Hutchinson, double bass and cello, was a key member of The Waterboys, and later he and guitarist Donogh Hennessy formed the dynamic rhythm section of the Sharon Shannon Band.

Founding member of Lúnasa, Seán Smith, is an all-Ireland fiddle champion who has played with Donal Lunny's Coolfin.

"I had a vision of the type of music I wanted to create," says Seán. "In my books, the most influential band was the Bothy Band, who were flute, pipes and fiddle based."

Otherworld's guest performers (and original Lúnasa members) include uilleann piper John McSherry (Coolfin) and flutist Michael McGoldrick (Capercaillie) and touring member piper Cillian Vallely.

McMenamin’s St. John’s Pub

On September 19, 1999, Lúnasa played at McMenamin’s St. John’s Pub in Portland, Oregon, where this historic photo was taken. Along with the interesting architecture, "the acoustics of the domed room are rich and crisp--like being inside an old guitar," according to booking director, John Malloy.

Click here
for St. John’s Pub music schedule

Text by Bernadette Price
Photo courtesy of Green Linnet Records