Prince Edward Island Musicians Tour Comes to Worcester

A high octane punch of traditional and innovative Celtic blues will be unleashed when Prince Edward Island musicians Roy Johnstone and Steve Sharratt visit New England with a stop at the Hibernian Cultural Centre on Friday October 24, 2008 at 8:00PM. The pair come from the red cliff shores of Canada's smallest province and will be featured at a number of venues across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine during late October.

Armed with a new CD, they will play everything from church halls and concerts to house parties and just appeared at the New Hampshire Highland Games in September. "We're very happy to be asked to return and very pleased to have a new recording available,'' said Johnstone. "On our last visit many folks requested a recording of some of the tunes we performed." Their new CD is called "Longshore Drift" and features both original and traditional instrumental material encompassing fiddle, banjo, viola, mandocello, guitar, dulcimer and mandolin. Both are multi-instrumentalists.

This is their 3rd visit to the "Boston States" and the dynamic pair is known to lift off an audience with their musical energy and engaging style. "We've met some great people on our visits and we hope to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones at the shows,'' said Johnstone.

With numerous solo recordings to his credit, Johnstone has just returned from being a guest performer and lecturer at the North Atlantic Fiddle Conference in Newfoundland where he shared the stage with many international fiddle stars including Alasdair Fraser. He has a number of recordings to his credit and hosts regular sessions for musicians in Charlottetown. Singer/songwriter Sharratt has spent the summer hosting the Orwell Ceilidh's, the longest running ceilidh (music party) on the Island, where songs and tunes and stories and dancing are all part of the show. He performed live on Scottish radio this summer and his songs have been recorded by such notables at the Cape Breton Rankin Sisters.

"It's our chance to see the autumn leaves, meet up with good friends, and cheer for the Red Sox," he said. Together they have performed at folk festivals and concerts from Scotland to Winnipeg and even Passim's in Cambridge. They were guest performers this summer at the 2008 P.E.I. Jazz and Blues festival as well. Their new recording "Longshore Drift" was recorded at Johnstone's home studio tucked away in an old gabled farmhouse near the sea.

Johnstone and Sharratte will perform on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 8:00 PM at the Cultural Centre located at 19 Temple Street, Worcester. Advance tickets are $20 and available at the Centre's "Fiddlers' Green Pub" or by calling (508)792-3700. (Tickets will be available at the door for $25).

History of the Hibernian Cultural Centre

The Hibernian Cultural Centre has quickly become the premiere cultural venue for the Worcester area Irish community since its opening in 2005. The building was refurbished by the HCC and filled a void created in 2002 when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts took the former "Irish Club", located on Millbury Street by eminent domain for the construction of the Route 146 Extension. The thriving Worcester Irish community was left without a home for many of cultural events through which it had ensured perpetuation of the Irish cultural to younger generations. For the interim years, the Irish community hosted its events at many local establishments that donated space. However, it was evident that the many once thriving Irish groups could not maintain their activities without a permanent home. The former Polish American Veterans hall, located at 19 Temple Street, Worcester was acquired and dramatically renovated.