GRÁDA
According to The Irish Times, Gráda produces music with “enough steam in its heels to leave most of its peers at the starting blocks." Indeed, the young quintet from Dublin seems bent on reinventing traditional music for a new era. Blending contemporary style, modern instrumentation, and a multi-faceted take on Celtic tradition, the innovative ensemble creatively employs double bass and percussion (a rarity in acoustic Irish music) as their foundation, while flute, guitar and fiddle intertwine above, creating a searing rhythmic vitality and urgency.
Influenced by Scottish, Breton, Eastern European and other regional styles, Gráda conjures an elegant, timeless sound, complemented by an astonishing instrumental virtuosity: from the mesmerizing fiddle playing of Brendan O’Sullivan, to the flute of Alan Doherty, a featured soloist on three Lord of the Rings soundtracks. The haunting  vocals of Anne Marie O’Malley elevate the band’s virtuosity to even higher levels of accessibility and warmth.
Gráda's second CD (The Landing Step, with contributors that range from Oscar Wilde to Linda Thompson to Emily Saliers) has just appeared on Compass Records. A tremendous live act, the band continues to broaden and refine their sound. Innovative, energetic, accessible, and refreshingly distinct, Gráda is poised at the brink of international stardom.
Thu Sep 20 | 8 pm
CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
$14 advance | $17 day of show

Ticket info
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