Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early with Danú

March 5, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One of the leading traditional Irish music ensembles of today will help kick-off St. Patrick’s Day a few days early when they perform March 13 at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts. Danú will perform traditional Irish music and songs.

Danú, which takes its name from the Irish goddess for fertility, has been performing since the early 1990s to standing-room-only crowds in their native Ireland. Hailing from County Waterford, the group employs a variety of instruments – including flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, and bouzouki – as well as haunting vocals. Their repertoire effortlessly blends traditional ancient Irish music with new, contemporary works.

Shortly after their inception, the band appeared at the Oireachtas Festival where they received the prestigious La Boulee Des Korrigan award, an award for the best new band of the festival. In addition, the band has been honored with numerous awards from the BBC and Irish Music Magazine. In January 2004, Danú was invited to perform at the launch of Ireland’s EU presidency ceremony and. The band was invited to perform as part of the Irish government’s trade delegation to India in 2005.

Their recordings include “Think Before You Think,” “All Things Considered,” “The Road Less Traveled” and “Up in the Air.” In 2006, they released a live DVD of their concert at Vicar St. Dublin, titled “One Night Stand.”

Tickets are $25 to 35. To purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 (toll-free). Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash, checks, MasterCard, Discover and Visa are accepted.

UF students may purchase $12 tickets (with a valid student ID) at the Phillips Center Box Office and the University Box Office at the Reitz Union. Other students may purchase $12 student tickets (in the balcony) at the Phillips Center Box Office.

Performance dates, times and programs are subject to change.