Gettin' My Irish Up

Sat, Sept 2

We went Saturday evening to Olathe, spent the night. Grilled up some beef & peppers we brought. Had a few drinks, watched "300".

When we got to the fest we tipped our figurative hats to Cami who is on the comittee, the art director, and head of the various contests. She was busy. Headed up to the main stage. We watched some Irish Dancing on the big stage, walked the vendor circut, and sat in the shade and watched kids play in the big blow-up obstacle courses and slides.

After a while I heard this great female voice coming from the main stage area, and we went to check it out. It was a group I'd never heard before called Searson. I'd say the oldest was about 50, a man, then a charming redhead (with "the voice" who I'd say was in her early 40's, a captivating fiddler in her early 30's, and the youngest girl was maybe 26. Brothers and sisters, save the drummer. Last name: Searson. Hence the name. They played together like family. Tight as a wet leather knot. They have a new fan. I ordered their live CD.

Then the Saw Doctors, who have a bit of an edgier sound than they did when I found out about them 10 years ago or so, but still quite enjoyable, and finally Gaelic Storm.

It turns out Ellery Kline left because she had a baby and the touring schedule was just too much. So everyone's excused.

I didn't get any pictures of Gaelic Storm (this year) as they were on the Boulevard stage which there isn't a good spot to get pictures from if you're not in the front row, and it was packed.

But here they are last year, with Ellery Klein, my lost love ;-) on fiddle (below).

The Kansas City Irish Fest is a big deal now, and they've done a good job making it very family friendly with lots of good music, places for little kids to play, even diaper changing stations. They dye the water in all the Crown Center fountains green, and the kids play in the only one that isn't ... the water that comes right up out of the bricks.