East Hartford Community Cultural Center including music, bluegrass, celtic,and popular rock

Advance Ticket: Student/Senior $10.00 or $12.00 Adult At the Door: Student/Senior $13.00, Adult $15.00 Doors Open: 6:00 PM Showtime: 7:00 PM A national touring force in bluegrass music, Pine Mountain Railroad, is an exciting five-piece band. This highly sought, nationally-recognized tour band has been busy entertaining at festivals, concerts, and other performance venues in the USA, Canada, and on the high seas. Organized in 1998, the current Pine Mountain Railroad is now a heartstopping six-piece bluegrass band. The band features: Cody Shuler -- mandolin & vocals, Bill McBee -- bass & vocals, Matt 'Scooter' Flake -- fiddle & vocals, Jerry Cole -- guitar & vocals and Dale Perry -- banjo & vocals. This concert is the beginning of East Hartford’s Holiday Fest which benefits the Food and Fuel Banks.

Join us after the tree lighting on the Town Green for the first night of Holiday Fest with YULETIDE GROOVE, from Alger and Monique deliver exciting, fresh jazz interpretations of a widely diverse selection of secular and sacred holiday songs".

Child ticket: $12.00/$15.00 door 17 under Produced by Oisín Mac Diarmada of award-winning lrish group Téada, the atmospheric Irish Christmas in America show once again features a top Irish vocalist in the 2009 touring line-up. Leading Irish singer & accordionist, Séamus Begley from West Kerry, joins a host of top musicians and dancers on stage for an engaging performance rich in history, humour and boundless energy. The magic of the Irish harp and uilleann pipes from leading exponents Gráinne Hambly and Tommy Martin augments the rhythmic pulse of Brian Cunningham's stunning old-style Irish dance. This family-friendly performance features evocatively-sung Irish ballads and holiday carols, lively fiddle tunes and thrilling Irish dancing. Tristan Rosenstock’s narration brings to life ancient customs and stories, while evocative photographic images provide a backdrop of rich historical context. This year includes a special feature on Captain Francis O’Neill, a tale of an emigrant from Cork who became Chief of Police in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, going on to make an incredible contribution to Irish traditional music history. Take a memorable glimpse into the enchanting spirit of Christmas, as some of Ireland’s finest traditional artists bring you on a distinctively Irish journey during the holiday season of 2009.

Solas is virtually unique in the new territory it has opened up for Celtic music. It has performed at all the major Celtic and folk festivals, including Philadelphia, Edmonton, the legendary National Folk Festival, and Milwaukee’s Irish fest; but also at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the chamber music summer series at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It has performed at Symphony Hall, Wolf Trap, the Ford Amphitheater, and Queens Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. In New York City, where the band was based in its early years, it has played at the legendary Bottom Line folk club, but also at vaunted classical venues Town Hall and Symphony Space. The Solas sound today is anchored by founders Seamus Egan, who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistle, guitar and bodhran, and fiddler Winifred Horan. They are two of the most respected—and imitated—musicians anywhere in acoustic music. Mick McAuley from Kilkenny plays accordion and concertina; Eamon McElholm from Tyrone plays guitar and keyboards. Solas has emerged as the most exciting band in traditional Irish music.

Although Bearfoot has nine years, major festivals, and three albums under their belt, Doors and Windows contains many firsts. This is the first Bearfoot CD to feature guest musicians, in this case Andrea Zonn of James Taylor And Band (fiddle), Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters (dobro), Alison Brown (banjo) and Larry Atamanuik, whose drums also represent another Bearfoot first. The band, all of whom sing, have also elected to rely more on a lead singer approach, with newest member Odessa Jorgensen taking charge of the vocals. California-born fiddle player and vocalist Jorgensen, formerly a member of The Biscuit Burners, joined Bearfoot in September 2008.

Sponsored by Burnside Brewing! Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, POGEY combine original Celtic/Rock tunes with stellar instrumentals. The group performs with genuine spontaneous and spectacular energy. They have the audience the minute they hit the stage. For the last 5 years, POGEY has been bringing audiences to their feet all over Canada and the United States with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary music. POGEY's six members combine fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and banjo with electric guitar, bass, drums and four part vocal harmonies to produce their trademark "Nova Scotia Sound". POGEY's high octane and fully interactive stage shows have kept the band in high demand at major festivals, conferences and top clubs.

The Circus is coming back to Town. If you missed them in 2009 mark your calendar and come on down. In 1998 The Circus emerged from the misty hills of Sleepy Hollow, New York and exploded upon the Hudson Valley music scene with their stunning self-produced debut release, "A Good Thief Tips His Hat". The quirky quartet then began touring throughout the northeast and rapidly developed a fiercely loyal, all-ages following. Featured recently in Relix Magazine, the New York Times and on the CBS hit show, Joan of Arcadia, the band's charismatic live performances and whimsical blend of folk, rock, hillbilly and pop have simply captivated audiences and critics alike. Their much celebrated new release "Flapjacks from the Sky" has garnered high praise from music writers, sparked generous activity at radio, and continues to invoke wave after wave of enthusiastic response from music fans world-wide. The music of Slambovia has been described as "Hillbilly-Floyd, folk-pop", "alt-country roots-rock, and "surreal Americana".

Don't miss this outstanding band as they come off a tour with Steve Martin in support of his recent album. From Asheville, North Carolina, Steep Canyon Rangers have built a reputation as an engaging acoustic quintet seasoned by constant touring. Before being nominated for 2 International Bluegrass Music awards in 2008 (including Album of the Year, ”Lovin’ Pretty Women), the Rangers were named ’Emerging Artist of the Year’ in 2006 at the IBMA awards ceremony in Nashville, TN. The group has been regularly featured on the Grand Ole Opry, as well as major U.S. Bluegrass and Americana music festivals such as MerleFest, Telluride, Grey Fox, DelFest and RockyGrass. The band’s willingness to bring Bluegrass to music-lovers worldwide has taken Steep Canyon Rangers to festivals in Sweden, Ireland, Germany and Canada. The group also regularly performs at Rock & Roll venues on the U.S. jam-band circuit.

Presented by: The LUNCH Ensemble and Voices For Hope. The musical and social action legacy of Harry Chapin is presented in a tribute concert featuring one of Connecticut's Official Troubadours, Bill Pere, with Kay Pere, The LUNCH Ensemble, and the Voices For Hope. Concert proceeds benefit social service programs through LUNCH (www.lunchensemble.com). The event is sponsored by the Connecticut Songwriters Association (www.ctsongs.com).