River Drivers, John Byrne Band and Galways Girls Set for Irish Music Festival at Bucks County Playhouse

Bucks County Playhouse will salute the music of Ireland with a special Irish Music Festival, March 17-18, 2017.

Featuring three unique acts that specialize in Celtic Music, the Festival also includes a "pop up" inflatable Irish Pub in The Playhouse's Courtyard, an Irish Whiskey tasting event and plenty of Irish charm all weekend.

Festivities kick off on Friday, March 17 at 8 p.m. with a concert by The River Drivers. Anchored by Kevin McCloskey (vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass) and Mindy Murray (vocals, guitar, banjo) with accompaniment by Marian Moran (tin whistle, low whistle, concertina) and Meagan Ratini (fiddle, Irish flute, tin whistle), The River Drivers have cultivated a passion-infused style drawing from Celtic, Americana and Mountain influences.

On Saturday, March 18 at 2 p.m., The John Byrne Band will present a concert, led by former Patrick's Head front man and Dublin native John Byrne. With influences ranging from The Chieftains to Planxty to Bob Dylan, John's songwriting honors and expands upon the musical and lyrical traditions of his native and adopted homes.

Between the performances on Saturday, the inflatable pub will host an Irish Whiskey Tasting from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The tasting includes five courses of Irish whiskeys with a complimentary light fare buffet. The tasting requires a separate ticket. Irish whiskey tasting tickets (tasting only) and tasting tickets for concert single ticket holders cost $35. Whiskey tasting tickets for pass holders are $30.

The Festival concludes on March 18 at 8 pm with a concert by The Galways Girls featuring Celtic Pride. Returning to The Playhouse, The Galway Girls are Meredith Beck, Kendra Jo Brook and Janice Landry with special guest singer Michael O'Brien. The performance also features Irish-American band Celtic Pride, led by Bill and Jim Monaghan and Brian DiBiagio.

The Irish Music Festival is sponsored by The Dubliner on the Delaware (New Hope, PA), as well as Celt-Iberia Traders (New Hope, PA), Two Gingers Irish Whiskey and Southern Wine and Spirits of Pennsylvania.

Tickets to the Irish Music Festival are available as either single tickets for each show or as a weekend pass. Single ticket (per event) prices are: Cabaret Tables: $30 and Orchestra Seats: $20. Passholder tickets are: Cabaret Tables: $75 and Orchestra: $45.

With a Festival Pass, patrons get access to all three concerts, as well as exclusive access to a private pass holder event inside BCP's outdoor inflatable pub on Saturday at 4 pm. The passholder event includes one complimentary drink and light fare catering. In addition, passholders may upgrade their experience to include a Whiskey Tasting Inside at the Pub at a discounted rate. More information is available on the Bucks County Playhouse website or by calling the Box Office at 215-862-2121.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, George S. Kaufman, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, The Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein.

Since its renovation, significant productions include Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons" starring Tyne Daly, which moved to Broadway and was nominated for two Tony Awards, and "Misery" by William Goldman based on the Stephen King novel which also went on to a Broadway run in the 2015-16 season. Two of The Playhouse's recent productions -- "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" -- were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. The Playhouse's productions of "Steel Magnolias" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" broke box office records in 2016.