Heatons to close out 29th annual uNi Coffeehouse concert seriesDate: 5/1/2014 SPRINGFIELD – On May 17 at 7:30 p.m., the uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series will come to a close after 29 years with a final performance by Matt and Shannon Heaton.
The concert will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Society Meetinghouse, 245 Porter Lake Drive.
Boston-based Matt and Shannon Heaton play traditional and updated Irish music with voices, Irish flute, accordion, guitar and bouzouki. They share many similar Irish music memories because they have performed together from their first meeting in Chicago in 1991. Behind their Irish flute- and guitar-driven tunes and stirring songs is a deep well of mutual memories, setbacks, and triumphs.
Their inventive approach to traditional tunes and ballads, their variety of instruments, and their blend of new and old music creates a robust “band” sound the Boston Herald called “majestic excellence.” Winner of Live Ireland’s “Trad Fusion Album of the Year,” the Heatons move seamlessly from harmony singing, to driving flute tunes, to lush guitar lines, creating a big, layered, modern sound.
There are plenty of American roots influences and original touches here – newly composed melodies, self-penned stories, updated lyrics, tight harmony singing – but everything is filtered through an Irish traditional music framework.
Having built their act from years of touring together (first with band Siucra, then as a duo), Matt and Shannon have grown into thoroughly entertaining performers. They bring to the stage a depth of shared experience and a love for Irish music (and each other); their stage banter is comfortable, often hilarious.
This May 17 concert marks the end of the uNi Coffeehouse Concert Series after 29 years of events. Watch for the possible announcement of a new concert series sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield in the near future.
For more information or ticket reservations, call 562-3990 or visit uNiCoffeehouse.org. Tickets are $15 (cash or check) at the door.
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