Early fall concerts slate: Lots going on

Greater Boston’s early fall Irish/Celtic concert slate includes a rare duet appearance by Beoga members Niamh Dunne and Sean Og Graham and a concert by new “super group” The Alt, both at The Burren, and a performance by one of Scotland’s most enduring and popular bands, the Tannahill Weavers, at a new location for the notloB Parlour Series.

• The Somerville-based Burren welcomes Dunne and Graham as part of its “Backroom” series on Sept. 10. The two are an integral part of Beoga, regarded as one of the most inventive and exciting groups to emerge in 21st-century Ireland.

Dunne, in addition to being a talented fiddler with strong family roots in Irish music – her father, renowned piper Mickey Dunne, will be joining them for the show – is a dynamic vocalist who has shown herself capable of singing in a variety of styles, from traditional to country to ragtime; Graham excels at both the melody (accordion) and rhythm (guitar) ends of the spectrum, and is a highly creative composer of tunes, many of which are part of

Beoga’s repertoire. Local bluegrass/Celtic fusion band Cat and the Moon will open the evening.

The Alt, which comes to the Burren Sept. 17, comprises John Doyle, one of the most influential Irish guitarists-vocalists-songwriters of our time; Nuala Kennedy, a flute and whistle player and vocalist, whose innovative interpretations of Irish and Scottish music have been spotlighted on her three acclaimed solo albums; and Dublin-born bouzouki and guitar player Eamon O’Leary, who plays as part of The Murphy Beds and has been a mainstay of New York City’s Irish scene for
some years. Worcester native David Doocey (now a Mayo resident), an All-Ireland medalist and World Fleadh fiddle champion, will be the kick-off act.

For more information on The Burren “Backroom” series, and links to purchase tickets for these events, see burren.com/Backroom-Series.html.

• Club Passim in Harvard Square will welcome The Bombadils, a Canadian quartet with a repertoire from Irish, Canadian, bluegrass, and old-timey traditions, along with their own material, on Sept. 14; opening is the Maine duo of Ellie Buckland and Isa Burke, who play a combination of Americana and original roots-based music. Scottish-style Fiddler Hanneke Cassel and cellist Mike Block come to Passim for two shows on Oct. 2. Go to passim.org for information on these concerts.

• On Sept. 20, Newton Community Pride will present the first event in its “Acoustic Newton” coffeehouse series, a concert featuring Boston-area trio Ceol Corvus, which plays mainly traditional Irish tunes and songs on concertina, whistle, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, guitar and bodhran. The opening act will be Catching Sparks, the duo of Isabel Oliart (fiddle) and McKinley James (cello), performing Celtic and New England-style music. The concert takes place at 7 p.m. in the Newton Cultural Center at Newton City Hall; tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors [see newtoncommunitypride.org].

• The seven-year-old notloB Parlour Series, with a distinguished track record of presenting local, national and international acts in a variety of traditional, folk and acoustic music genres, moves to Brookline’s Washington Square area for the 2014-15 season. On Oct. 4, notloB will present the Tannahill Weavers, stalwarts of Scottish traditional music for almost four decades, their style marked by instrumental sets full of drive, vigor and – above all – musical virtuosity, and songs with gorgeously arranged harmonies. They also are well-known for their stage presence, especially through the humor and spirit of co-founder Roy Gullane (guitar, vocals). Joining Gullane is fellow band co-founder Phil Smillie (flute, bodhran, whistles), long-time fiddler/violist/cellist John Martin and most recent arrival, bagpiper Lorne MacDougall.

Opening the show will be Boston-area trio Fresh Haggis, three young American musicians – Kathleen Parks (fiddle, vocals), Elias Alexander (pipes, whistles, vocals) and Eamon Sefton (guitar, vocals) – who are blazing their own way in Scottish and Irish music. The band has performed at BCMFest, Berklee College of Music Fusion Night, and the Lord Geoffrey Presents Series.
The concert will take place at Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, 1581 Beacon St. in Brookline. Reservations for this and other notloB events are strong encouraged. For more information, see sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic.

• On Oct. 8, Celtic music from a sometimes overlooked setting – Spain – will be the focal point of another Lord Geoffrey Presents event, a concert by Blanca and Chuchi Alcuadrado. This violin-guitar duo brings Celtic influences to their interpretations of traditional music from Burgos, the historic capital of Spain’s Castile region. The show takes place at Outpost 186, 186 Hampshire Street, in Cambridge; for reservations and information, e-mail lordgeoffreypresents@gmail.com.