Irish duo add to Celtic concert series

Ireland's premier guitar player Gerry O'Beirne and popular American fiddler Rosie Shipley bring their melodies to Prescott Friday in a performance in the Hassayampa Inn's Arizona Room.

The concert, sponsored by the Prescott Celtic Concert Series, begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance at the Celtic Crossings Pub at Prescott Gateway Mall or $17 at the door. Student tickets are $5 less than adult tickets, and admission for children 12 and under is free.

O'Beirne, a native of Ennis, County Clare, along Ireland's music-rich west coast, is a self-taught master of the six- and 12-string guitars who brings his unique musical stylings and poignant original songs to the stage whether he's performing solo or with other artists.

He has appeared on NPR's Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show, toured the globe as a solo artist and with other ensembles, performed at the White House and once opened for the Grateful Dead, in addition to having a number of albums to his credit.

Shipley grew up in Baltimore, Md., in the midst of traditional Irish Scottish fiddle playing. She had her first violin lesson at age 3 and when she was 8 she began taking lessons from All Ireland Fiddle Champion Brendan Mulvihill. Today, when she's not touring, she teaches fiddle at her Baltimore music studio.

O'Beirne "can make his 12-string guitar sound like an entire orchestra," said Prescott Celtic Concert Series director David McNabb. "Rosie Shipley's superb fiddling is the perfect compliment - together, they are the best duo in Irish music."

For more information about Friday's concert, call McNabb at 771-1218.