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Up To Date

Live In-Studio: The Elders

Trying to get in the mood for a festive St. Patrick's Day?

Friday in the final portion of Up to Date, Irish rockers The Elders join Brian Ellison for an in-studio performance.  We'll talk about the Kansas City-grown band, upcoming performances, and changes to the group over the year.

The Elders perform in their 10th Annual St. Patrick's Day Hoolie, Saturday March 17 at 8 p.m. at the Uptown Theater. Click here for tickets.

When The Elders formed in 1998, they were not new-comers to the American music scene. All were well known veteran musicians having played in numerous recording and touring bands before forming The Elders – hence the name. It didn’t take long to establish themselves as one of the top Celtic-Rock groups in North America, quickly gaining critical attention in prestigious publications such as Paste Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Kansas City Star, Music Row Magazine, Goldmine Magazine, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, and many more. The group was able to take advantage of their rather diverse collective musical past, employing a variety of instruments including banjo, accordion, mandolin, fiddle, piano, guitars & drums. The result is a skillful mix of Celtic folk pop augmented with amped-up Americana roots rock - a cross-pollination of elements that is high octane and progressive, yet rooted in tradition. Their music features powerful vocals, blazing instrumentals and song writing that is unaffected by fads, trends and the giant maw of mind-numbing commercialism. Their songs are mystical, comical, political and cultural, while covering a wide variety of topics such as poverty, civil war, family bonds, spirituality, love and friendship.  They tell stories of people, places and events - some recent, some distant, some real and some imagined.

Stephen Steigman is director of Classical KC. You can email him at <a href="mailto:Stephen.Steigman@classicalkc.org">Stephen.Steigman@classicalkc.org</a>.
As a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.