Much more than ‘Danny Boy’: bringing Irish traditional music to the USA

Abstract

Performances in the USA during the 1970s by three semi-professional groups – The Chieftains, the Siamsa Céilí Band, and Siamsa Tíre – present opportunities to understand developments in Irish traditional music during that period. These developments led to increased commercialisation of the music and tours by Irish performers to the USA in subsequent decades, providing access to a significantly larger market for the genre, within and beyond the diaspora. Underpinning the study is a critical consideration of audiences’ understanding of Irish identity and culture and the reception of Irish cultural performances in the USA at this time. These tours contributed to a reconceptualization of Irish traditional music that engaged new audiences in the USA and incorporated repertoire beyond what American audiences typically associated with Ireland at the time. Developing a professional approach, the groups presented repertoire from the dance music and harp music traditions, Irish language song, and traditional styles of dance. We examine the motivations for the tours, the itineraries and venues, and the material presented, as well as the impact of Northern Ireland politics on each of the groups and their performances.