Hello from Brian O'Donovan, Producer

Hello. This is my very first blog ever! So bear with me.

Can't believe we are at that time of year again when we need to get ready for the Icons Irish Arts and Music festival. We have a new web site - which you know about if you are on this - and a whole lot of great musicians - and then some - coming to be part of the weekend with us.

I would like to keep these pages casual in terms of my own writing and to generate some conversation with fans of Irish and Irish-connected music out there.

Generally, as a philosophy, we try to program ICONS to be an unusual Festival where the un-familiar is as comfortable as the well known. To that end, I look carefully at the world of traditional Irish music today. I am fascinated by the vital, vibrant state that music is in, and particularly fascinated with the connections the music has made in so many genres, so many countries.

I travel extensively to see bands in performance, as I am often convinced that a good sounding CD is just not enough to tell you about a singer or instrumentalist. So what you will see on that weekend in September, will be a curated selection of the best, simply the best. You may not love everything you see or hear, but it will be high quality and compelling.

So, soon, our web site will be fully functional with audio and video for each of the artists we have lined up for you. Check back often at http://www.iconsfestival.com/. And comment back on what you think.

Of course, its not just music at this festival. This year we have really stepped up the support of our genealogy programs where you can start your search or look up a passenger list of a boat that might have arrived here a century ago. We have literature and drama, history, artistic demonstrations, Gaelic athletic games, wolfhounds; the list goes on.

But again, with the Irish Cultural Centre of New England and the Festival, we are only keepers of a public trust, that is the wealth of Irish culture as it thrives here in New England and beyond.

What would you like to see more of?

How can you connect us with something we might not be aware of?

How can you get more involved?

How can we improve on every aspect of what we do?

We are looking to create a lively discussion point here and you may see postings from a few different people involved in the Festival's organization. So, stay reading and stay active in the blog. And thanks....

Brian O'Donovan, Festival Producer