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Thanksgiving in March
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t usually a time of reflection. This year, for me, it was.
If you’re a musician who plays Irish music, the first through seventeenth of March are what one former band member used to refer to as “The High Holy Days.” Even non-Irish venues hire Celtic bands during the St. Patrick’s Day season, resulting in the majority of the year’s income. It’s both fun and frustrating.
I’ve been playing this music since 2007, first with a well-established local group, Jug o’ Punch, and now with The Boston Harbor Bhoys, which I formed with my son and a friend of his when the first band retired after existing for 42 years.
Last year we played a few places that we wouldn’t want to play again. Often, a venue will hire an Irish band because they feel they have to for the holiday, and sometimes there’s a sense that they don’t really want us there. But this year we were lucky. No duds. Even the one restaurant that didn’t fit the usual mold was welcoming and friendly and we were very well-received. We had one gig at the beginning of the month, then five in the three days from the 15th to the 17th. It was draining but fun!
The Bhoys don’t play out that much these days due to my and my son’s roles as caregivers for my wife. But when the offers started coming in for March, I started…
