Clarke
MAR 20 20
11
Good Times On Saint Patrick’s Day With Brogue Rogues Nearly 20 percent of Americans — more than 55 million — claim Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census, but as the saying goes, “Everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day.” The celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day began in the 17th century when the Catholic Church established March 17, the day of Saint Patrick of Ireland’s death in 461AD, as a day of feasting, in honor of his work in converting Druids to Christianity. It was intended to be a day of religious services and family and feasting. However, when Irish immigrants brought the holiday with them to America in the 1760s, it became more of a celebration of Irish national pride, thus beginning the transition into the celebration that we know today. While it is a celebration of Irish heritage, St. Paddy’s Day touches even those without a hint of Irish lineage. Probably because the hard-working, proud nature of the Irish immigrants has melded into and become part of our national identity as Americans. And, probably also because we love an excuse to celebrate. Here in Clarke, we are fortunate to have a wealth of musical talent to entertain us throughout the year, and we hardly need an excuse to celebrate short of celebration itself. We do have that reputation. St. Paddy’s Day is different, though — the camaraderie, the singing, the silliness, the energy.
It is a full participation holiday and there is no need to leave Clarke County to participate. Clarke County’s own, Brogue Rogues is offering two opportunities to dance a jig and raise a pint this year. On Monday, March 16, St. Paddy’s Eve, at L’Auberge Provencale in White Post, beginning at 5pm; then again on Tuesday, March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day, at NIK’s in Berryville at 5:30pm. The Brogue Rogues was/ were founded in 1999 by lifelong Clarke County resident Jim known as “JimBuck” by friends and family. The group’s original configuration consisted of JimBuck on hammer dulcimer, Dave Milefsky on fiddle, and Mary Knupp on guitar. The following year, multi instrumentalist John Friant joined the band as its fiddle and mandolin player. Since that time, the band has employed several different guitar players, including, in chronological order, Mark Snyder, Stephanie Nelson, Todd McDonald, Keith Adams, Clark Hansbarger, and its current player, the accomplished multi-genre guitarist, Gerald Kinzie. Over the last twenty years, the only constants have been JimBuck and John Friant. The band’s musical style can best be described as an interesting mix of traditional Irish jigs and reels, tender ballads, and bawdy drinking songs from the British Isles, old-timey Appalachian fiddle tunes, and some of JimBuck ‘s original compositions.
Many of their songs are familiar to Celtic music aficionados, who, with the band’s encouragement, typically join in singing on the chorus sections of the songs. During the Brogue Rogue’s heyday back in the aughts and early teens, the band performed
If you are of Irish ancestry, wish you were, or you just love a great time with a room full of happy, singing people, make a point to see the Brogue Rogues on March 16th or 17th (or both!), but get there early because they will pack the house!
year-round at a number of different venues — parties, clubs, bars, weddings, and wineries — all over the northern Virginia area, but as its members have aged, the group now largely confines its performances to the period surrounding March 17.
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