The Chieftains at Carnegie Hall

Elizabeth Zelvin


Last Saturday, my St. Patrick’s Day ended appropriately with the 50th anniversary concert of the Chieftains, Ireland’s Music Ambassadors, at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The sold-out concert provided more than ninety minutes of nonstop world-class music in Carnegie Hall’s splendid acoustics and ended with the audience dancing in the aisles and up onto the stage.

Founder Paddy Moloney (shown here with Matt Molloy, flute, and Kevin Connell, bodhran and vocals) is still going strong at 74, making musical magic on uilleann pipes and penny whistle and connecting with the audience with plenty of Irish charm.


Traditional Irish music, superbly played, is just the jump-off point for the amazing collaborations the group is known for (including Sting and the Rolling Stones), and this concert was no exception, with musicians, singers, and step dancers from places as various as Dublin, Nashville, Canada, Long Island, and the Isle of Lewis along with bagpipe bands, Breton dancers in full costume, and folk rock group Low Anthem, who hail from Providence, RI.


From my dizzying perch in the front row side of the dress circle, I snuck a few pix on my iPhone.

Chieftains with pipers

Breton Dancers

Dancing in the aisles