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Tommy Makem and The Makem Brothers

Presented by DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

September 30, 2005

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The legendary “Bard of Armagh,” Tommy Makem, has been one of the most recognized names in traditional Irish music since the 1961 Newport Folk Festival, when he and Joan Baez were named folk music’s “most promising newcomers.” For more than four decades—from the Ed Sullivan Show to Madison Square Garden—Makem’s banjo, tinwhistle, and magnificent baritone voice have been instrumental in developing an international audience for traditional Irish music. Makem’s sons Shane, Conor, and Rory have become sought-after musicians on their own merits. In 2003, they joined forces with another set of Irish siblings—Mickey and Liam Spain—to form a quintet that has established them as the definitive Irish folk singers of their generation. Don’t miss this chance to see two generations of Ireland’s musical “first family” together in concert. “With his friendly patter between songs, [Tommy] Makem could make every one of his listeners feel part Irish and proud of it... Makem has his audience ready to go out and die for Ireland.” –The New York Times "[The Makem Brothers] are able to continue the Clancy-Makem mantle and yet be uniquely themselves with a freshness that shows real affection for the music." –WRDV, Pennsylvania Location: Leighton Concert Hall Makem.com

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Venue Info

    DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

    University of Notre Dame
    100 Performing Arts Center
    South Bend, IN 46556

    Full map and directions

  • Admission Info

    Tickets: $30.00 General Public $26.00 Faculty, Staff, and Seniors $15.00 Students

    Info Phone: 574-631-2800

    Buy Tickets

  • Dates & Times

    Dates:
    September 30, 2005

    Times:
    8:00 p.m.

  • Accessibility Info

    Currently, no accessibility information is available for this event.

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    • Event Name: Tommy Makem and The Makem Brothers
      "Review of Tommy Makem and the Makem Brothers"
      Review posted by: Various Reviews from South Bend, IN USA, Sep 18, 2005
      

      Perhaps the highlight of the Guinness Fleadh on Saturday on Randall's Island came at midday. There, backed only by an acoustic guitar, Tommy Makem bellowed a stentorian "Four Green Fields," the... Expand

      Perhaps the highlight of the Guinness Fleadh on Saturday on Randall's Island came at midday. There, backed only by an acoustic guitar, Tommy Makem bellowed a stentorian "Four Green Fields," the hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad he wrote in 1967, as the audience members pumped their hands in the air and sang in spellbound unison. ... "there is no denying that old vocal magic, which turned a whole generation onto Irish folk music, is still there." NY Times

      (Tommy) Makem never grows weary of standing before people and giving the gift of music and stories. The Daily Messenger - Steppin' Out, Canandaigua, NY

      It would be easy to mention "Four Green Fields" and leave it at that. But Makem is also a folklorist, a poet, a writer-and a musician and singer of real integrity. More and More, that's hard to come by." Tom Dunphy The Irish Voice, New York, 23 June 1999

      One of the truly seminal figures of folk music Ireland has ever produced in the last half century. Truly one of Freedom's Sons. Malcolm Rogers Irish Music Magazine May 1999

      Irish music in America has never been the same...Their songs of joy, struggle and hope made America take notice of Ireland. Irish America Magazine; Nov. 1999

      Ancient Pulsing...may be the most astonishingly beautiful fusion of Irish poetry and music ever created in a culture famous for both art forms. - The Dover Times, Dover, NH

      In a world full of volatile stocks and shady get-rich-quick schemes, a ticket to a Tommy Makem show is one of the safest investments going. Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, WV; Oct. 13, 1999

      "...his ability to capture you with his storytelling is phenomenal, and he bounces effortlessly from recitation to song, with barely a thought to conserving his energy for his audience." Irish Voice, Vol. 13, no. 41; Oct. 6-12, 1999

      Front rank of this country’s folk performers NY Times

      One of the years best, bringing gusto to folk favorites of the pubs! Time Magazine

      Electric in-person impact! A resounding hit! As strong an attraction as has been known. Hollywood Reporter

      “Excellent!” Saturday Review

      It was a piece of theatre, a lament and a love song that came from the heart of one man and the soul of a country....Tommy Makem singing “Four Green Fields” is like what somebody once said about a Bruce Springsteen concert. “You can’t describe it. You just have to go where it takes you. Boston Globe Magazine

      A ballad that hit home with Alaskan storytellers was the tragis “Peter Kagan and the Wind,”...after singing a host of traditional songs, both haunting and joyful, Makem took the audience by surprise with Colm Gallagher’s irreverent “Bridie Murphy and the Kamikazi Pilot.” Anchorage Times

      Makem’s “Gentle Annie” remains one of his most poignant, romantic ballads....Tommy’s “Four Green Fields” leaves me with the same lump-in-the-throat feeling I get from some of the stronger musical pieces by Woody Guthrie or “Blowin’ in the Wind”-era Bob Dylan. The News World, New York

      And Makem, whether delivering a work of poetry or a song or just chatting with the crowd, has a voice that could do for the Irish what Burton’s did for the Welsh. Phoenix Gazette

      Faster than the eye can follow, Makem will go from singing “Bridie Murphy and the Kamikazi Pilot” to a recitation of William Butler Yeats. “When You are Old and Grey” in a rich baritone, made precisely for reciting poetry. Courier Post, NJ

      Makem’s dark, husky baritone gives edge to his plea for a reunited Ireland in “Four Green Fields” and becomes a gentle caress in “Gentle Annie,” both his own compositions. Hollywood Reporter

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    • Event Name: Tommy Makem and The Makem Brothers
      "Review of Tommy Makem and the Makem Brothers"
      Review posted by: Various Reviews from South Bend, IN USA, Sep 18, 2005
      

      Perhaps the highlight of the Guinness Fleadh on Saturday on Randall's Island came at midday. There, backed only by an acoustic guitar, Tommy Makem bellowed a stentorian "Four Green Fields," the... Expand

      Perhaps the highlight of the Guinness Fleadh on Saturday on Randall's Island came at midday. There, backed only by an acoustic guitar, Tommy Makem bellowed a stentorian "Four Green Fields," the hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad he wrote in 1967, as the audience members pumped their hands in the air and sang in spellbound unison. ... "there is no denying that old vocal magic, which turned a whole generation onto Irish folk music, is still there." NY Times

      (Tommy) Makem never grows weary of standing before people and giving the gift of music and stories. The Daily Messenger - Steppin' Out, Canandaigua, NY

      It would be easy to mention "Four Green Fields" and leave it at that. But Makem is also a folklorist, a poet, a writer-and a musician and singer of real integrity. More and More, that's hard to come by." Tom Dunphy The Irish Voice, New York, 23 June 1999

      One of the truly seminal figures of folk music Ireland has ever produced in the last half century. Truly one of Freedom's Sons. Malcolm Rogers Irish Music Magazine May 1999

      Irish music in America has never been the same...Their songs of joy, struggle and hope made America take notice of Ireland. Irish America Magazine; Nov. 1999

      Ancient Pulsing...may be the most astonishingly beautiful fusion of Irish poetry and music ever created in a culture famous for both art forms. - The Dover Times, Dover, NH

      In a world full of volatile stocks and shady get-rich-quick schemes, a ticket to a Tommy Makem show is one of the safest investments going. Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, WV; Oct. 13, 1999

      "...his ability to capture you with his storytelling is phenomenal, and he bounces effortlessly from recitation to song, with barely a thought to conserving his energy for his audience." Irish Voice, Vol. 13, no. 41; Oct. 6-12, 1999

      Front rank of this country’s folk performers NY Times

      One of the years best, bringing gusto to folk favorites of the pubs! Time Magazine

      Electric in-person impact! A resounding hit! As strong an attraction as has been known. Hollywood Reporter

      “Excellent!” Saturday Review

      It was a piece of theatre, a lament and a love song that came from the heart of one man and the soul of a country....Tommy Makem singing “Four Green Fields” is like what somebody once said about a Bruce Springsteen concert. “You can’t describe it. You just have to go where it takes you. Boston Globe Magazine

      A ballad that hit home with Alaskan storytellers was the tragis “Peter Kagan and the Wind,”...after singing a host of traditional songs, both haunting and joyful, Makem took the audience by surprise with Colm Gallagher’s irreverent “Bridie Murphy and the Kamikazi Pilot.” Anchorage Times

      Makem’s “Gentle Annie” remains one of his most poignant, romantic ballads....Tommy’s “Four Green Fields” leaves me with the same lump-in-the-throat feeling I get from some of the stronger musical pieces by Woody Guthrie or “Blowin’ in the Wind”-era Bob Dylan. The News World, New York

      And Makem, whether delivering a work of poetry or a song or just chatting with the crowd, has a voice that could do for the Irish what Burton’s did for the Welsh. Phoenix Gazette

      Faster than the eye can follow, Makem will go from singing “Bridie Murphy and the Kamikazi Pilot” to a recitation of William Butler Yeats. “When You are Old and Grey” in a rich baritone, made precisely for reciting poetry. Courier Post, NJ

      Makem’s dark, husky baritone gives edge to his plea for a reunited Ireland in “Four Green Fields” and becomes a gentle caress in “Gentle Annie,” both his own compositions. Hollywood Reporter

      Collapse

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