THE Alley Theatre in Strabane is delighted to be hosting the 20th Anniversary of C.R.A.I.C. with the ‘Johnny Crampsie Song and Dance Music Festival’, with concerts and workshops taking place throughout this weekend.
In 1995 under the name CRAIC (Cultural Revival Among Integrated Communities), a group of people got together with the aim of reviving the old cultural traditions.
After holding successful trad music weekend in 1997, CRAIC set up an annual event dedicated to the respected local musician, Johnny Crampsie who was a versatile fiddle and saxophone musician that played trad and a wide range or other types of music.
The opening concert of the festival will take place in the Alley Theatre on this Friday night with CRAIC in Concert with Special Guests Tom Byrne and Friends, with an evening of traditional Irish and Folk music, hosted by the well-established local group.
The Johnny Crampsie Music Workshops will take place on Saturday with tutors from the fabulous group Beoga, followed by an opportunity for participants to perform on stage as part of the Beoga Concert, taking place later that evening.
Beoga (Gaelic for ‘lively’) have become one of the most exciting, popular and influential groups in modern traditional Irish music.
Their unique sound features the twin dueling accordions of Damian McKee and multi-instrumentalist Seán Óg Graham, pianist Liam Bradley, four times All-Ireland bodhrán champion Eamon Murray and Niamh Dunne, on vocals and fiddle.
Shortlisted for a Grammy nomination in 2010, Beoga are described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘the best traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century’.
Over the festival weekend, the ever popular trad CRAIC Late Night Sessions can be enjoyed by all in the Stables of Sion Mills, while finishing off with the Closing Session with CRAIC on the Sunday evening.
Craic is also celebrating their 20 year anniversary with an exhibition in the gallery space in the Alley Theatre with audio, video, photographic and artefact displays from the many events through the years.
This will be an opportunity for the hundreds of people who have taken part or just enjoyed their experiences with craic to relive those memories.
This promises to be another exciting and memorable weekend for all those culture vultures out there so come along and enjoy.
For more information on the festival visit – http://www.craiconline.net
Tickets for all events are now available at the box office and online. The full Autumn/Winter programme is now available for download at http://www.alley-theatre.com/brochure/ and further updates will be available viafb.com/thealleytheatre and @TheAlleyTheatre on Twitter.