Contact Information: Press Contacts: Patti Conte Plan A Media 212.337.1406 ext. 16 patticonte@nyc.rr.com Melani Rogers Plan A Media 212.337.2034, ext 18 Melanirogersny@aol.com Natasha Padilla WNET.ORG 212.560.8824 padilla@wnet.org
Music of Ireland - Welcome Home
March Nationwide Premiere on Public Television (Check Local Listings); Barnes & Noble Exclusive CD and DVD Release; Amazon.com Digital Partner; New Public Television Special Chronicles Irish Music's Global Impact; Grammy Award-Winner Moya Brennan Hosts, Exclusive Interviews and Performances by The Chieftains, Riverdance's Michael Flatley, U2, Pete Seeger, Sinéad O'Connor, the Late Liam Clancy, and Others; Exclusive New York Metro Area Sneak Preview Wednesday, February 17 at 9:30pm on WLIW21; Companion CD & DVD Features Major Irish Artists
| Source: The Elevation Group
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - February 10, 2010) - MUSIC OF IRELAND - WELCOME HOME tells the
definitive story of contemporary Irish music, focusing on the Emerald
Isle's greatest musical exports, their influence on America and the music's
global impact. Hosted by Clannad's Grammy Award-winning Moya Brennan, the
performance documentary features six Grammy Award winners, Academy Award
and Golden Globe winners, and three Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
Produced by the Elevation Group's Denny Young -- an American music and
television production veteran who has produced special concert events for
Duran Duran, Seal, LeAnn Rimes, Counting Crows, and many others, Music of
Ireland - Welcome Home premieres nationwide March 2010 on public television
(check local listings). New York metro area viewers will get a sneak
preview of the program during WLIW21's exclusive broadcast premiere
Wednesday, February 17 at 9:30pm. The program is a presentation of WLIW21
in association with WNET.ORG and is sponsored in part by Tourism Ireland.
The Music of Ireland - Welcome Home CD and a DVD of the program bundled
with an exclusive public television bonus CD will be available during the
public television broadcasts to viewers who make a donation in support of
their local station. The CD bonus tracks include additional songs by Órla
Fallon (formerly of Celtic Woman), Ronan Tynan (formerly of The Irish
Tenors) and others.
Barnes & Noble, Music of Ireland's exclusive retail partner, will feature a
nationwide, in-store promotional campaign starting March 2 that will
promote the TV show and feature a special, exclusive deluxe edition combo
pack of the CD and DVD. The exclusive deluxe edition will be available both
in Barnes & Noble stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com).
Amazon.com is Music of Ireland's digital music partner and will feature all
CD tracks digitally, on a 45-day exclusive basis starting March 2nd.
Beginning in 1960 with the Clancy Brothers, Music of Ireland - Welcome Home
traces the origins of Irish music, and features exclusive interviews with
U2's Bono and Adam Clayton, Michael Flatley and Bill Whelan of Riverdance,
Live Aid and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats, Sinéad
O'Connor, Pete Seeger, The Chieftains' Paddy Moloney, former Celtic Woman
Órla Fallon, Black 47's Larry Kirwan, six-time Academy Award-nominated
director Jim Sheridan, the late Liam Clancy in his final U.S. television
interview, and many other Irish musicians, scholars, journalists, and
producers. Brennan, Enya's eldest sister, conducts intimate interviews
that weave a thread of connections and themes, both past and present, that
link Ireland's unique and sizeable contribution to both the music world and
the creative arts -- from rock to folk, country to classical, dance, film,
and literature. Revealing stories include Seeger's discovery of Irish
music, Bob Dylan educating Bono on the Clancy Brothers and the McPeake
family, the inspiration behind Van Morrison's music and lyrics,
Riverdance's beginnings, and The Chieftains' early days.
Never-before-seen performances by U2 and Friends, Clannad, The Dubliners'
John Sheahan, Paddy Moloney and Moya Brennan, the McPeake Family, and an
authentic Dublin pub session combine with vintage clips of The Clancy
Brothers and Tommy Makem and The Dubliners on The Ed Sullivan Show, Judy
Collins playing music from the 'old country,' The Pogues and Van Morrison
with The Chieftains on RTE's Late, Late Show, and Riverdance's debut at
Eurovision to illustrate the full breadth of the Irish musical spectrum.
Music of Ireland - Welcome Home is directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner
Philip Marshall, a former senior producer and director at THIRTEEN/WNET and
current executive producer of national productions for Maryland Public
Television.
"This is about a country, its people, their undeniable spirit and the
amazing music that has transcended generations. There is no place like
Ireland," stated Executive Producer Denny Young. "For such a small country
to produce such amazing talent and the way their music defines the people,
is just extraordinary. It has fascinated me for most of my life and is
something I wanted more people to be in tune with."
"This has been an amazing journey so far," commented Moya Brennan. "Never
in my 40 years of working in the Irish music community had I totally
recognized the impact we have all had on the world generally and in America
specifically. And I must say, it has been a real treat to be on the other
side of the camera talking to Glen, Damien, Paddy, Sinéad, Bono, Adam, and
so many others."
Music of Ireland - Welcome Home's companion CD is sure to provide the
soundtrack for generations of Irish music, collaboration and spirit.
Produced by acclaimed producer John Reynolds (U2, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel,
Bjork, Dido), the companion CD features new material by Grammy
Award-winners Moya Brennan, Sinéad O'Connor and The Chieftains, Academy
Award-winner Glen Hansard (The Swell Season), Damien Rice, former Irish
Tenor Ronan Tynan, Andrea Corr, Damien Dempsey, Shane MacGowan (The
Pogues), The Hothouse Flowers, Órla Fallon, the late Liam Clancy, Paul
Brady, John Sheahan, Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine, and a special track by
Anúna featuring Moya Brennan and Afro Celt Sound System's Iarla Ó Lionáird.
"We've made a great CD," enthused John Reynolds. "We have several Grammy
Award-winning and Academy Award-winning artists collaborating with each
other to make a totally diverse and an extraordinarily special collection
of musical tracks. I am honored to be involved with the project."
"Public television audiences have had a long love affair with Irish music,"
said Gillian Rose, Head of Distribution for WNET.ORG. "Music of Ireland -
Welcome Home brings traditional artists like The Chieftains together with
contemporary phenomena like Celtic Woman, Riverdance and U2 -- one of the
world's biggest rock bands -- to celebrate this country's incredible
contribution to music. Educating audiences while entertaining, that's what
we do best."
A sequel to Music of Ireland - Welcome Home is planned for late 2010
spotlighting more recent artists including U2, Celtic Woman, The
Cranberries, The Corrs, The Irish Tenors, and singer/songwriters like Glen
Hansard and Damien Rice, as well as the rise of Irish music festivals and
the use of Irish music in film and television. For more information, visit
www.musicofireland.com.
A production of The Elevation Group. Executive Producer: Denny Young.
Director: Philip Marshall. A presentation of WLIW21 in association with
WNET.ORG. Funded in part by Tourism Ireland.
About The Elevation Group
The Elevation Group is one of the nation's leading Sports & Music
marketing, event and TV production firms. Founded in 2002 by industry
veterans and former senior executives at IMG -- Denny Young and Steve
Lindecke -- Elevation has been named one of the top production companies in
the United States by Event Marketer magazine the past four years (2006,
2007, 2008 and 2009). Elevation works alongside some of the world's most
recognizable corporate brands and personalities in the following areas:
Sponsorship Consultation & Activation, Event Management, Live & Televised
Productions and Communications & Marketing. Elevation has produced music
specials for Public Television, Cable Networks and a number of major
corporate sponsors. Elevation offices are located in Cleveland, Charlotte,
Detroit and New York. For more information, log onto www.elevationgrp.com.
About WNET.ORG
New York public media company WNET.ORG is a pioneering provider of
television and web content. The parent of Thirteen, WLIW21 and Creative
News Group, WNET.ORG brings such acclaimed broadcast series and websites as
Worldfocus, Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose,
Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Visions,
Consuelo Mack WealthTrack, Miffy and Friends, and Cyberchase to national
and international audiences. Through its wide range of channels and
platforms, WNET.ORG serves the entire New York City metro area with unique
local productions, broadcasts and innovative educational and cultural
projects. In all that it does, WNET.ORG pursues a single, overarching goal
-- to create media experiences of lasting significance for New York,
America and the world. For more information, visit www.wnet.org.