Brigid's Cross, their 'Faithful' to make date for Hemmens

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day a little early at The Hemmens when area favorites, Brigid's Cross, will be joined by their special guest, Beth Patterson, in a fun-filled evening at 8 p.m. Friday.

Already veteran world travelers, Paul, Peg and Richie of Brigid's Cross continue to add to their list of places visited and venues played. Formed in 1996, Paul Baker, Peggy Goonan-Baker and Richie Reece bring an eclectic collection of music to the stage.

From traditional music to contemporary pieces, Brigid's Cross is a never-ending show from start to finish.

"The Faithful," as their hard-core fans are called, come to the shows wearing T-shirts with the latest hip tribute to a frothy pint and temporary tattoos sporting the BC logo. They even have Cross coozies to keep their drinks cool, and they know all the words to all the songs.

All have been indoctrinated into the BC world, providing the audience participation that is such an integral part of Irish music. The Faithful meet at shows and festivals and online in chat rooms.

It has been a road of evolution for Brigid's Cross since their first festival performance at the Riverfront Irish Festival in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, almost a dozen years ago.

In that time, the band has performed at festivals all over America and in Ireland. On either side of the "pond," audiences have come to expect a high-energy performance and are given it without fail.

It is an ensemble, featuring an array of voices and instruments that take center stage for a solid show of entertainment.

A little bit of family politics can seep into the on-stage banter, too, as Peg and Paul are married, and Richie is their nephew. Add in Peg's father, Dick "The Rooster" Goonan for a song or two, and the lineage of music comes full circle.

With a freshly released CD, "Shake The Tree," listeners get the expected traditional tunes as well as several original songs. It is a different, introspective look into the creative side of Brigid's Cross that is a departure from previous albums of more well-known Irish music.

Multi-instrumentalist Beth Patterson is foremost a player of the eight- and 10-stringed Irish bouzoukis (adaptations of a traditional Greek instrument). This native of Lafayette, La. began her professional musical career in her early teens as a classical oboist and a Cajun bass player (with the required teenage heavy metal stint on the side), but not truly belonging to any of these, set out to create her own niche. She now integrates into her style her experiences of playing Celtic, Cajun, rock, jazz, blues, country, gospel, classical, Latin, and folk music. She has played in 11 countries throughout the Americas and Europe, and maintains an active gig schedule in her home base of New Orleans. She spent a year studying traditional Irish music and ethnomusicology at University College, Cork in Ireland, where she first studied the music of West Africa, India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean, and began to experiment with fusions of these musical genres and her previous influences.

Tickets are on sale now at the Hemmens box office, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. To order by phone, call (847) 931-5900 or order online at www.hemmens.org.