Celtic Rock Legends Black 47 Celebrates 21st Birthday

Nov. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- Black 47 will celebrate their 21st birthday at Connolly’s, 121 W. 45th. Street, NYC on Saturday Nov. 20th at 10:30pm. For the first part of the night they will perform their hit CD, “Fire of Freedom” in its entirety and later do selections from their 12 other CDs. This will be their only New York City engagement until New Year’s Eve, also at Connolly’s.  

Recently the Black 47 song Big Fellah was featured for three uninterrupted minutes on FX Cable’s most popular show “Sons of Anarchy.”  Earlier this fall Black 47 appeared in “Music of Ireland, Welcome to America,” as part of a national PBS pledge drive, co-hosted by Black 47’s Larry Kirwan and Laura Savini of PBS.

Leaders in Celtic Rock, the genre they helped create, Black 47 formed in October 1989, and took their name from the worst year of the Irish Potato Famine.   By 1992 they had their first hit single, Funky Céilí.  The band’s signature eclectic sound, socially conscious lyrics and off-the-wall live shows paved the way for other Irish influenced bands such as Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys.  

Black 47 has appeared on the late night shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O’Brien and has been profiled in most major magazines and newspapers.  Their CD, “Trouble in the Land,” was recently voted the “top Irish-American album of the decade” by readers of www.Irishcentral.com

Black 47 is led by Larry Kirwan (guitar/vocals).  He has written ten plays and musicals produced in the US and Europe; five published under the title Mad Angels.  Kirwan’s novel, “Liverpool Fantasy,” an alternate history of the Beatles, received much critical acclaim and has been translated into Spanish, Greek and Japanese.  His most recent novel, “Rockin’ The Bronx” and his memoir, “Green Suede Shoes,” have both been published in the US and UK. He hosts the popular “Celtic Crush” for SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and writes a weekly column for the Irish Echo newspaper.

Geoffrey Blythe (saxophones) was a founder member of Dexy’s Midnight Runners.  Fred Parcells (trombone) has worked extensively in Latin/Jazz and big bands.  Thomas Hamlin (drums) is a veteran of the Max’s/CBGB’s scene.  Joseph Mulvanerty brings a rare jazz and blues flare to the uilleann pipes and various flutes, while Joseph “Bearclaw” Burcaw offers a wealth of funk/R&B experience as well as a dynamic stage presence

Black 47’s new compilation CD, “Funky Ceili – The Party Songs,” will be released in Feb. 2011.

For more information on Black 47, visit www.Black47.com or contact Kellyn Slone at 646.943.3669 or KellynS@UFOmusic.net.

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