Irish Music and Dance with Haley Richardson, Don Penzien, and Will Bryant

Traditional Irish Arts of Knoxville, Jubilee Arts, and Boyd’s Jig & Reel present Haley Richardson and Don Penzien with special guest Riverdance dancer Will Bryant in concert Saturday, September 21 at 8:00 pm at the Laurel Theater. Doors will open at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show and are available at www.JubileeArts.org. If you’ve an affinity for “pure drop” Irish traditional music, you’ll find it wherever this duo performs! First joining forces on a festival stage in 2017, Haley and Don toured regularly together until Haley took up the mantle as core musician for Riverdance. Taking advantage of Haley’s brief summer hiatus from Riverdance, the duo is joining forces once again with shows in the Southeast. Haley Richardson with her highly ornamented and virtuosic style of playing, launched her opening salvo in the Irish music world at 6 years old when she won the under 12 All Ireland qualifier. She has since amassed a long list of All Ireland and other championship titles (solo fiddle and slow airs) and has performed the world over. Whether performing in smaller setting or with the world renowned Riverdance, Haley brings a rare dynamism and energy to her music. Currently the fiddler for the 25th Anniversary tour of the Grammy Award winning production, Riverdance, Haley has performed with many of the best-known Irish musicians including The Chieftains, Altan, Dervish, Mick Moloney and Green Fields of America, Pride of New York, Liz Carroll with Cherish the Ladies, John Whelan, Paddy Keenan, The Máirtín de Cógáin Project. Don Penzien has long been a top-flight performer of Irish traditional music. He frequently is on the road playing concerts and festivals with Gailfean, The Máirtín de Cógáin Project, and Haley Richardson and he has served as accompanist for numerous other well-known performers (e.g., Gerry O’Connor, Randal Bays, Tim Britton, John Williams, Pat Broaders, Gabe Donohue, Ben Jaber, Tony DeMarco, Billy McComiskey, Sean Clohessy, Bridget Fitzgerald, Kevin Doyle). Widely recognized for his reserved backing style, Don’s dexterous work on DADGAD-tuned guitar provides solid, driving rhythms to traditional tunes as well as perceptive and sensitive accompaniments to songs and airs. Don is a Michigan native with strong roots in Irish culture and an affinity for Celtic music. Joining Haley and Don is River Dancer Will Bryant. Born in Sydney, Australia, Will trained with the Halloran Dance School in Irish, ballet, contemporary and tap from the age of four. Will performed lead roles in musical productions and made regular appearances on TV. At university he studied for a Bachelor of Music and is an accomplished guitarist. An ambitious athlete, Will is studying personal training on and off tour. Following an impressive competitive Irish dance career, placing top-three internationally and winning state and national titles, he performed with Celtic Illusion and Heartbeat of Home. In 2014 he joined Riverdance and has toured worldwide. Will is thrilled to be part of the lead team of Riverdance. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Event Links

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2612335-0

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2612335-2

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