John Whelan & Haley Richardson Concert

Join us on Friday, September 21st for an evening of high-energy Irish tunes! Seven-time All-Ireland Button Accordion Champion John Whelan is one of the world’s best living Irish button accordion players. John was raised in the vibrant London Irish music scene of the 1970s, and learned his craft from such legends as Lucy Farr, Roger Sherlock, Paddy Taylor, Mick O Connor and his teacher Brendan Mulkaire. Along with his All-Ireland Championships, he was twice awarded musician of the year from the Irish Music Association. He has over 15 CDs and has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. John’s music has been featured on such TV shows as “Sex in the City,” “History’s Mysteries” and “History Detective.” Today John performs with the John Whelan Band and has recently teamed up with his old pal Brian Conway forming the group Gailfean, which also features Máirtin De Cógáin and Don Penzien. Gailfean has recently released a new CD. Dynamic young fiddler Haley Richardson began making her mark in the Irish music world at six years old when she won the All Ireland qualifier in the under 12 category. Over the past ten years, she has amassed a long list of accomplishments and performed at venues all over the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Thailand. Haley is the 2017 All Ireland U15 Fiddle slow air champion, 2015 Junior Fiddler of Dooney, and 2013 All Ireland U12 Champion in both fiddle and fiddle slow airs. She has performed with many of the most well-known names in Irish music including The Chieftains, Altan, Dervish, Mick Moloney, Pride of New York, Liz Carroll with Cherish the Ladies, Paddy Keenan, and is a regular member of Green Fields of American and The John Whelan Band. She has been the band fiddler in the Studio2Stage Irish dance production, That’s Dancing, from 2014-2017. Haley was also featured in an article in Fiddler Magazine’s Fall 2015 issue. Members of the Celtic Arts Foundation save 20% on their tickets, so be sure to join or renew before making your purchase in order to save on this concert and many others! Please email events@celticarts.org or call us at (360)416-4934 to receive the discount code. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Doors open at 6:30PM. Information about cancellations, refunds, and exchanges can be found on our Ticket Policy page. We are pleased to offer members and guests discounted lodging at the Burlington Hampton Inn & Suites, where they’ll save 15% on the best available rate and enjoy complimentary breakfast. The Hampton Inn is about a ten minute drive from the Littlefield Celtic Center. To make reservations, please visit our page online at celticarts.org.