Musicians and singers from Ireland and Brittany celebrate Samhain (pronounced sah-win), the Celtic festival marking the beginning of the ‘darker half’ of the year that eventually gave rise to Halloween here in the U.S. Celebrated in Brittany as Kalan Goañv, the festival marks the time of year when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thins, when we remember and celebrate our recently departed — a strong and ancient Celtic complement to Día de los Muertos celebrations here in San Francisco.

Colm Ó Riain: Irish-born virtuoso violinist and his soulful band are joined by special guest singers for this exploration of the connection between the worlds: West African percussion underpins plaintive Middle Eastern melodies, Flamenco duende drives jazz improvisations, topped with sparkling Irish fiddling to bring them all together. Colm is joined by Wade Peterson (percussion), Joe Kyle, Jr (bass) & Geoff van Lienden (guitar).

“Ó Riain’s fireworks display of virtuosity easily spans the diverse genres of gypsy, tango, jazz, blues and Irish music, all with his characteristic intelligence and pizazz” – the Irish Herald.

Breizh Amerika Collective, featuring accordionist Thomas Moisson and guitarist Roland Conq travel from Brittany in France to San Francisco for this celebration. The Collective brings together innovative musicians from Brittany, France and the United States of America to collaboratively work to create and produce original music, bring awareness to endangered traditions, while developing durable Transatlantic links of cooperation and understanding. Moisson, considered one of the most talented accordionists of his generation, is joined by Roland Conq, one of the top guitarists in Brittany, both constantly embarking on unique musical journeys with musicians of other cultures and horizons.

MORE: www.colmoriain.com

MORE: www.breizh-amerika.com/the-collective.html