One day before Connecticut’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade weekend begins, the Palace Theater in Waterbury will jumpstart the festivities a wee bit earlier with a rousing performance by The Irish Rovers on March 9, at 8p.m. Tickets are $45, $35, and $25, and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online atwww.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main Street in Waterbury, CT. Groups of 15 or more qualify for discounted rates and should call the Group Sales hotline at 203-346-2011.
Before the concert, the Palace is offering a variety of Irish-themed pre-show events to get everyone in the St. Patty’s spirit. Waterbury’s newly elected mayor and Irishman Neil O’Leary will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies and will announce the City’s honorary “Irish Mayor of the Day” from the stage. Horgan’s Irish Dance Academy will also be on site to perform a free dance exhibition in the theater’s lobby at 7p.m., while Star Distributers will be positioned by the bars offering patrons festive give-a-ways and featuring Smithwick’s Irish ale as the beer of the night.
For more than four decades, The Irish Rovers have served as the international ambassadors of Irish music, charming and entertaining audiences around the world with their anthems of revelry and cheer. Best recognized for their signature song, “The Unicorn” from their debut album The First of The Irish Rovers, the Rovers have also received acclaim for their pop/country song “Wasn’t That A Party” and their recording of the infamous Christmas song, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”
In 1968, The Irish Rovers received a Grammy nomination for “Folk Performance of the Year,” and earlier that same year were awarded Canada’s “Folk Group of the Year” award. Throughout the 70’s and early 80’s, the Rovers brought their magic to television with a weekly series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and later, another series on the Global Network which was syndicated around the world. This year, the group is celebrating 45 years of music with a new album Gracehill Fair and a new DVD filmed entirely in Northern Ireland titled “Home in Ireland.”