•A couple of festivals to note: There’s the fifth annual Rockport Celtic Festival, which takes place September 11-14 at the Shalin-Liu Performance Center, with a line-up that includes Open the Door for Three, Diarmuid Ó Meachair, Le Vent du Nord, Triton, David Coffin, Jenna Moynihan, Kyle Sanna and a bunch more good reasons to make the trek to Cape Ann. You can read more at this link, which includes an interview with the festival’s artistic director Maeve Gilchrist, who’ll also be performing. 

The Lowell Irish Festival returns on September 13, with a bevy of events and activities from mid-day well into the evening. The performers and schedule had yet to be announced at press time, but all info is at the festival website.

 Traditional Irish music trio Lane to the Glen – Samantha Harvey, Oisin Mac Diarmada and Daithí Gormley – is in town this month.

•The Burren’s Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series has a couple of distinguished Irish fiddlers in this month’s line-up. On September 7, it’s Lane to the Glen, the trio of Oisin Mac Diarmada, Daithí Gormley and Samantha Harvey – their band name taken from the album they released last year; they’ll also be appearing at the Boston College Gaelic Roots series on September 25. Mac Diarmada, a co-founder of acclaimed traditionally rooted band Téada, was born in Clare but wound up moving to Sligo and later became infatuated with its fiddle style, especially as championed by the legendary Michael Coleman. Sligo-born Gormley is a generational talent on button accordion whose solo album “Fiddling without a Bow” received great acclaim, and he and Mac Diarmada co-published The Fiddlers of Sligo Tunebook, regarded as a must-have among many trad-minded musicians. Harvey, who is married to Mac Diarmada, is a talented pianist who also excels as a dancer and accordionist, and has toured with Téada and in other collaborations.

Anyone who’s been fortunate to catch Kevin Burke – who’ll be appearing at the Legacy Series on September 10 – live knows that, in addition to matchless fiddling, you get some fascinating and often hilarious stories in the bargain. Burke has been part of some of the Irish music revival’s most memorable ensembles, notably the Bothy Band – he also joined in its 2023-24 revival tour and documentary – Patrick Street, Open House, Celtic Fiddle Festival and his duo with fellow Bothy Bandmate Mícheál Ó Domhnaill. His collaborations range far and wide, such as with American singer-songwriter, documentary film composer and multi-instrumentalist Cal Scott. Recently, Burke reunited with Celtic Fiddle Festival – now also comprising Breton fiddler Yuna Léon and French guitarist Nicolas Quemener, and fiddler Charlie McKerron of the Scottish band Capercallie – to record a new album, “Humoresque,” released earlier this year via USB drive.

Information on The Burren Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series music events available here. 

•Speaking of accomplished fiddlers, yet another one will be in the general neighborhood: Eileen Ivers, performing at the Groton Hill Music Center on September 26. A co-founder of the groundbreaking Cherish the Ladies, a pioneer in Irish/world music fusion, she was in the original musical cast of “Riverdance,” of course, and has appeared with, among others, Sting, Hall and Oates, rock-poet Patti Smith, and jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. Her current ongoing project is the band UnIVERSal Roots, connecting music, cultures, stories and emotions that testify to our similarities rather than our differences. Its members include: Colin Forhan (lead vocals, guitar, banjo, concertina), Buddy Connolly (button accordion, keyboards, vocals), Lindsey Horner (upright and electric bass, baritone sax, harmonicas, vocals), Dave Barckow (lead vocals, percussion, guitar); Ivers also contributes mandolin, banjo, bodhran and live looping.

Go to grotonhill.org/concerts/eileen-ivers/

•County Laois singer-songwriter and guitarist Emer Dunne kicks off her very first US tour – titled “Folk Threads” – on September 5 at the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston in Canton. Dunne has a commanding vocal presence to say the least, and a repertoire that includes numerous Irish/Celtic and folk crowd pleasers: "Wild Mountain Thyme," "Come by the Hills," "The Parting Glass," "Shenandoah," "Sweet Sixteen." She's also shown a willingness to go beyond the familiar, evidenced by her lovely cover of acclaimed Scottish singer-songwriter Karine Polwart’s “Daisy” – a winsome warning to those emotionally frank persons who lack the protective covering sadly needed nowadays – and renditions of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and even Seal's "Kiss from a Rose." Her 2021 debut album "Hourglass" was produced by Bill Shanley, who's worked with the likes of Paul Brady and Mary Black).  

Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones, who have a new album titled “Live at Liberty Hall Dublin” in the pipeline, come to the ICC on September 28. Warfield was co-founder of the original Wolfe Tones, who over the course of four decades went on to earn acclaim for their fiery Irish patriotic and traditional songs. That sound lives on, drawing a new generation of listeners as well as older fans, through Warfield – who continues to sing, compose, tell stories, and record – and his bandmates including Damaris Woods (tenor banjo), Andreas Durkin (keyboards, vocals), Brent Hopper (bass guitar, vocals), Paddy McGrandle (flute, whistle), and Eddie Kane (guitar, vocals). Warfield – author of “The Irish Songster of the American Civil War” – and the Young Wolfe Tones also frequently provide a historical aspect to their performances, presenting lectures and songs that reflect the Irish experience in the American Revolution and Civil War.

Tickets and details for ICC shows here 

•On September 20, Medford’s Chevalier Theatre on September 20 will host “An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder” – the supergroup’s latest foray, which has a nostalgic tint to it. Current members Damian McGinty, Emmet Cahill, Neil Byrne and Ronan Scolard will present some Celtic Thunder classics and – we are informed – “welcome some old friends along the way.” The group  has been an international dynamo for more than a decade-and-a-half, performing songs from Celtic traditions alongside more contemporary fare with a pop music sensibility and arena-sized showpieces of choreography, lighting, and orchestration. 

Tickets, details at Chevaliertheater.com 

•It may not have a regularly occurring schedule, but notloB Parlour Concerts has been presenting some excellent folk and traditional music shows for almost two decades, and on September 9 will host the fiddle-cello-stepdance duo of Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira (accompanied by guitarist Everest Witman) at a house concert in the town of Harvard. Petit and Gira sport a rich, diverse repertoire spanning Scottish, Irish, North American and Scandinavian traditions, as well as original material, which they play with an intense virtuosity, by turns fiery and mellow. Their second release, “All It Brings,” won Traditional Album of the Year Honors at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and they’ve appeared at major events such as Celtic Colours International Festival (Canada), Celtic Connections (UK) and the New World Festival (US).  

For reservations and information, email notlobreservations@gmail.com

•Two events at Club Passim in Harvard Square are along the lines of what might be called “Celtic-adjacent”: On September 3 is Alex Cumming and Audrey Jaber. Cumming, a native of England who lived in the Boston area for a few years before moving to Vermont, is an accordionist and vocalist equally at home on the concert stage as he is playing for, and calling, dances. Among his collaborations has been the Anglo-Celtic trio Bellwether, with Louise Bichan and Eric McDonald. Jaber, a Californian-born fiddler, came east to attend the Berklee College of Music and wound up immersing herself in the New England folk dance and music scene. Together, Cumming and Jaber bring “Old World” and “New World” music traditions together with verve and geniality. 

Another, very different, duo comes to Club Passim on September 29. Teho. — yes, the period is part of their band name – is Tero Hyväluoma and Esko Järvelä, both of whom grew up in Finland and became immersed in its fiddle tradition, eventually becoming members of the much-praised Finnish fiddle band Frigg. But Teho. doesn’t stop there: They blend in the Norwegian and Swedish fiddle styles, not to mention bebop, Western swing and contemporary folk elements, as well as a good dollop of improvisation. Their album, “(E2 + ε + V) x I3 = P,” offers quite the listening experience, with whimsy and wildness (check out “Myllyoja-Blues” and “Sahanperän sottiisi”) alongside almost unearthly exquisiteness.

Club Passim tickets and information available at http://passim.org

•If you’re looking for something more participatory, the Canadian American Club in Watertown is hosting a Cape Breton-style square dance on September 13 from 8-11 p.m. with music from fiddler Richard Wood and pianist Janine Randall. You could easily just enjoy sitting, listening and watching, but no experience is necessary to dance – everyone will help you get where you’re supposed to go.

Canadian American Club website is here