New Orleans might be changing beat from the purple, gold, and green of Mardi Gras to forty shades of green for St. Patrick’s Day, but on Friday March 10, 2017, and Saturday March 11, 2017, the celebrations of all things Irish will kick off in Acadiana as the city of Lafayette gets ready to host the second year of the Celtic Bayou Festival.

This intimate, family-friendly festival was founded by husband and wife team Tony and Sheila Davoren. The couple met while both performing in Riverdance before moving to Lafayette over ten years ago, drawn by the area’s rich musical culture.

The only thing missing, said Tony Davoren, a native of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, was an authentic Irish festival and so, he said, Celtic Bayou Fest was born.

“The link between Celtic, Cajun and New Orleans music is that they all have that joy of life,” said Davoren. “Everything is very vibrant, it’s exciting and energetic, whether it is the tunes, the songs, or the dancing.  It all expresses that love of life.”

As it enters its second year, Celtic Bayou Fest will continue in its mission to preserve and celebrate all aspects of Irish, Irish American and Celtic culture and music at its new location at Parc Putnam, 813 Lafayette Street, right in the heart of downtown Lafayette.

The festival brings together local, national, and international bands from the Celtic, the Cajun and the Old Time genres in a lineup that includes Lafayette bands Farouche, The Rayo Brothers, Smithfield Fair, and The Whiskey Bay Rovers, Irish singer J.P. Murphy, North Carolina’s Beirt le Ceile and The Red Wellies, and Texas bands Reel Treble, and The Here & Now.

The Here & Now is a new upcoming Irish American band based in Austin, Texas. While the band itself is relatively new, all band members  – fiddlers Naimh Fahy and Chris Buckley, bodhran player Rob Forkner, and guitarist Joseph Carmichael - are well known in the Irish music scene. Forkner and Buckley are founding members of The Tea Merchants while Carmichael regularly tours with Ashely Davis and the Mari Black band. Fahy, who is originally from Co. Meath, spent five years as fiddle soloist for Riverdance as well as working with The Young Irelanders, The Dhol Foundation, Donal Lunny & The Chieftains.

“I get really excited when I hear Cajun music,” said Fahy. “Irish music and Cajun music are closely linked, not just in terms of the tunes, but also in terms of the cultural aspect of preservation and passing on the music from generation to generation.”

“This is a lovely festival, and it is very exciting to be able to get in at the beginning,” she went on. “I played in New Orleans a few years back, so I am really excited to be playing in Louisiana again. And at the Celtic Bayou Festival there is such a lovely mix between Cajun and Celtic music. I think that there is a wide audience for this kind of music.”

Celtic Bayou Festival will take place on Friday March 10, 2017, and Saturday March 11, 2017 at Parc Putnam, 813 Lafayette Street, Lafayette, LA.

More information is available at http://www.celticbayoufest.com