Quad City Arts Visiting Artists: Grosse Isle -- March 18 through 23.
Full Performance: Saturday, March 23, 7 p.m.
Skylark Concert Studio, 4401 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Abbreviated Performances: Monday, March 18, through Friday, March 22
Various Area Locales
With The Irish Times raving that it's "refreshing to hear a traditional band reference the present with such subtlety and finesse," the Celtic musicians of Grosse Isle will spend much of St. Patrick's Month as the latest gusts in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists series, performing an octet of area concert events between March 18 and 23, and delivering what Songlines magazine succinctly described as "splendid stuff."
Composed of Sophie Lavoie, André Marchand, and Fiachra O’Regan, Grosse Isle treats Celtic-music fans to what The Irish Music Magazine termed an “absolutely magical” collaboration between these three exceptional musicians from Ireland and Québec. Together, Lavoie (fiddle, piano, vocals), Marchand (guitar, vocals), and O’Regan (uilleann pipes, whistle, banjo) shine with their rich and enveloping music, all of them boasting revered national and international reputations within several groups over the past decades.
In 2016, the first album of the group Sophie & Fiachra with André Marchand, titled Un Canadien errant, was hailed as “a striking musical experience” by Le Devoir, while two years later, the group dazzled with Portraits, an album that Roots Music Canada deemed “a work of art in itself” and Folkworld called a real treasure." Both albums received nominations at the ADISQ Awards in the category “Album of the Year - Traditional," and the musicians' album Le bonhomme sept heures / The Bonesetter was launched in 2021 by this three-artist group, who henceforth bore the new name Grosse Isle. All three albums were also nominated at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
The band name refers to the story of the mass arrival of the Irish in the 19th century, on Grosse Île in the St. Lawrence River, as they fled the Great Famine. It is a striking encounter between two peoples and two cultures, and fusing Irish and Québécois repertoire with original compositions, Grosse Isle presents pieces from the album The Bonesetter as well as many surprises in their current touring performances. The harmonious blend of the two cultures, as well as the authenticity and the immense talent of the artists, deliver a sublime result, and blending traditional laments with more rhythmic songs, Grosse Isle has performed in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, and of course, Ireland.
During their tenure as Quad City Arts Visiting Artists, the Celtic musicians will bring Grosse Isle to audiences at seven area venues: at the Rock Island Public Library (2715 30th Street) on March 18 at 1 p.m.; Port Byron's River Valley District Valley Library (214 South Main Street) on March 18 at 6 p.m.; the LeClaire Community Library (323 Wisconsin Street) on March 19 at 6 p.m.; Moline's Butterworth Center (1105 Eighth Street) on March 20 at 7 p.m.; the Moline Public Library (3210 41st Street) on March 21 at noon; the DeWitt Community Library (917 5th Avenue) on March 21 at 6 p.m.; and Coal Valley's Robert R Jones Public Library (900 First Street) on March 22 at 4 p.m. All performances are free to the public, last roughly 45 minutes, and will feature a lecture segment in addition to the music. Grosse Isle will also perform a full concert at Rock Island's Skylark Studios (4401 7th Avenue) on March 23 at 7 p.m., with tickets available for $10-20.
For more information on Grosse Isle and the Quad City Arts Visiting Artists series, call (309)793-1213 and visit QuadCityArts.com.
