It's eight o'clock on a Friday evening and Minneapolis is locked in the grip of deep, Arctic cold. In the warmth of Kieran's Pub, however, the mood is characteristically jovial and an air of anticipation grips the roomful of patrons who await the evening's live music. Onstage, Legacy guitarist David McKoskey is making some final adjustments to the sound system.
Legacy is the name of a Twin-Cities-based Celtic-music band composed of guitar player McKoskey, accordionist Tom Juenemann, flutist and tin-whistle player Patty Drew and bodhrán (Irish drum) player Kevin Carroll. Legacy specialize in the traditional folk music of Ireland and Scotland as well as the Celtic-inspired music of the New World.
Together since 1999, the gig on February 2 was Legacy's first at Kieran's Pub since 2005. Getting booked at Kieran's is a big deal for bands in Minneapolis' active Celtic scene.
"Playing at Kieran's means recognition in the mainstream Irish music scene as an actual and viable band," McKoskey says. "Until you've made it at Kieran's, there's some doubt."
Legacy formed from a group of friends who kept running into each other at sessions at O'Gara's in St Paul. To the player of Irish music, a session (or seisiún, as it sometimes appears in Gaelic) is when various instrumentalists get together to share in Irish folk songs. The session represents the traditional Irish music scene at its most fundamental.
Providing accompaniment to Irish dancers was where the band cut their teeth. A friend of Juenemann operated a fitness center in Northfield and wanted to offer an Irish-dance class. She had a willing instructor but lacked accompanying music, so she asked Juenemann for help. Juenemann agreed and asked Drew, McKoskey and Carroll to join him. The day took an unexpected and rather exciting turn for the fledgling four-piece.
"One of the fitness club members was Norman Butler, the owner of the Contented Cow Pub in Northfield," McKoskey recalls. "He heard us play for the class at the fitness center and approached us afterwards. He invited us to the Contented Cow and said, 'Come play for your dinner.' It was our first real gig."
The initial Contented Cow engagement led to many more at that venue, and soon the band began operating under the name Legacy. The band's name was chosen to honor immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, Irish and otherwise, who passed music and traditions from one generation to the next. Legacy continue that tradition.
"We've attracted a bit of a following," McKoskey says. "It's really nice seeing friendly, familiar faces in the crowd. They'll sing along sometimes, too."
A Legacy gig features a variety of Celtic music. "Our range includes everything from relatively sedate background music to lively dance music to engaging audience participation songs," says bodhrán player Carroll.
The band's instrumentals, such as "Road to Lisdoonvarna" may remind some listeners of renowned Irish band Gaelic Storm; or, for the less initiated, it may be reminiscent of the steerage-class dance-party scenes from the film Titanic. Some of the band's lyrical numbers, such as "Step It Out Mary" or "Leaving of Liverpool" recall wistful, misty days long ago and far away. Others, such as "City of Chicago", remind listeners of the immigration stories that ultimately inspired Legacy's name.
In addition to Kieran's and the Contented Cow, Legacy have shared their music with patrons at venues all over the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. And they haven't turned their backs on the venues that gave them their start: the schools of Irish dance. Legacy frequently continue to provide accompaniment for the Shamrock School of Irish Stepdance and for Scoil na dTri Irish Dance Academy.
That said, Legacy are careful about limiting themselves too strictly to Irish music. One of Legacy's signature pieces is a historic Irish ballad, "The Rising of the Moon" that segues into Credence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising". And McKoskey, who has a penchant for songwriting, composed an original, Celtic-inspired piece called "Borderland", which poetically captures the sights and sounds of a trip to the Boundary Waters. The song may even be a metaphor for Legacy: Celtic music with a Minnesota twist.
"We like songs that please a crowd," McKoskey says. "Sure, we'll play some great Irish traditional music or find a new, obscure Irish tune that we'll add to our set list. But we'll still throw in 'Brown-Eyed Girl' or 'Margaritaville'."
Indeed, on this very night, one hour before Legacy would begin playing for the Kieran's crowd, a vivacious young woman approached the stage and requested "Brown-Eyed Girl". In exchange for a pint of Guinness, McKoskey agreed to say a special dedication before launching into the Van Morrison standard. It's these types of interactions that really impress upon McKoskey.
"I'm more interested in the reasons why people get together, the social side of things," McKoskey says. "Music is a way of passing time. It's an excuse to stay. And of course, there's some joy in music itself."
www.legacycelticmusic.com
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