An eight-concert series celebrating Celtic music is kicking off Saturday at the Brewery Arts Center.
Irish-American singer and songwriter Ryan Davidson will open the Brewery Arts Center’s Celtic Music Series at 7 p.m. in the Performance Hall.
Davidson crafts his music with working-class energy and storytelling. He said he discovered music while recovering from being struck by a semi truck when he was 13. As a teenager, he toured through the West Coast Punk rock scene, exploring his craft as a musician and a writer. After 10 years of touring with his punk band, hit by a Semi, he moved to Ireland and spent two years studying traditional Irish music.
Davidson said he grew up with Irish music.
“It was always a part of me,” he said. “I felt it was time to dive into it and learn it properly, down to the roots.”
After returning from Ireland, he began his career as a solo folk artist, blending his Irish music tradition with his rock-n-roll and Americana roots into a tangible, new voice, and crafting original songs that celebrate both life’s victories and tragedies and the strength to endure.
Davidson’s current tour promotes his newly-released, third CD, “A Wick Burning High.” He’s joined by Michigan fiddle player, Jessie Nieves, a singer who also appears on his latest CD.
The Brewery Arts Center’s Celtic Series presents monthly concerts showcasing local, regional, and national artists, with styles from traditional Irish and Scottish to folk-rock.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or at breweryarts.org.
Additionally, anyone who prefers big band music can catch Rosebud’s Dance Band at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Brewery Arts Center’s Maizie Harris Jesse Black Box Theater.
Formed a few years ago as an affiliate of the Carson Valley Pops Orchestra, Rosebud’s Dance Band meets in Rich Sheldrew’s “Man Garage” with Rosebud, the Sheldrews’ rescue burro looking on.
Some of the approximately 20 musicians are members of the Carson Valley Pops Orchestra. The band plays mostly big band era dance, jazz, and swing, with some modern pieces.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for members and available at breweryarts.org or at the Brewery Arts Center Artisan Store.
For more information, call the Brewery Arts Center office at 775-883-1976.