Arabesque (Steve Vanlandingham and Miranda Arana) teams up with The Merry Sisters (Kathy Dagg and Shanda McDonald) to form Celtic Caravan, a four-piece super-group dedicated to exploring the enchantments of traditional Irish music. The ensemble will be presenting a special concert of Irish music on St. Patrick’s Day at the Blue Door
The four musicians have been fixtures on the local Celtic scene for many years and have been playing together informally for contra dances and other regional events for the past five years.
Steve and Miranda played with the long-running Irish band Banish Misfortune until 2007 and have been together as world music duo Arabesque since 2004. Miranda’s flute magically captivates audiences with energy and artistry. Joining with Steve’s compelling rhythms on a variety of strings, they blend a colorful palate of Irish and Celtic with Middle Eastern and other world music styles.
Kathy and Shanda belonged to the well-loved local group Calliope House until 2007, when they moved on to form The Merry Sisters. They feature a mix a beautiful vocals and fiery jigs n’ reels. Kathy is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and banjo and is a mesmerizing singer. Shanda pours her special fiddle-sauce over everything and stirs in some lovely vocal harmonies.