Gettin’ Jiggy With It

The Irish musical tradition made its first pitch during the Great Famine, explains Rory O’Connor, founding member of Celtic Fringe, a Kansas City nonprofit that promotes Irish cultural awareness. For families anchored by poverty to the Irish countryside, music and dancing offered an ethereal respite from profound material absences. “You’d gather up in someone’s house,” O’Connor says, to enjoy entertainment that didn’t cost a thing.Centuries later, the jig still isn’t up. The unbridled Irish spirit visits Kansas City at Rockhurst High School’s Rose Theater (9301 State Line Road, 816-985-7789) at 7:30 p.m. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, a nonprofit organization based in Ireland that works to promote and preserve traditional Irish music and dance, sends its finest dancers and musicians to the heartland for Echoes of Erin, 2008 Concert Tour of North America. The one-night performance in Kansas City, sponsored by Celtic Fringe, features Seán Ó Sé, veteran singer, and a distinguished group of Irish musicians and performers. Tickets are available for $20 at the door, or at the Irish Museum and Cultural Center at Union Station (30 West Pershing Road, 816-474-3848).

Thu., Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., 2008