McAllen Irish Arts

And, like that, I was gone.

Up next & coming at us fast, is around the corner! This retreat is a wonderful opportunity to get plugged into the tradition, fitting tidily into a weekend, filled with sessions & merriment. So honored to be an instructor amongst greats, you truly have world class talent to learn anything & everything. Never been to a retreat before or have questions? Dm me! Come on out, would love to teach you a few steps 👞👞🎶

Come see me in the gallery tomorrow 6pm-9 for Art Walk & bring an instrument if you so fancy a few tunes! Setting up in this gallery always gives me such reflection & catharsis, putting things into perspective. I’ve been profoundly lucky to be surrounded by constant creation the past few years, an incredible & moving chapter of my life. Would love to share it with you. 🌑

It’s this head of hair’s birthday today 🎈 Remote half of McAllen Irish Arts, Antonio Lorenzo Santiago is about to get a lot more remote, he’s moving to Spain tomorrow💃🏻 Just the sort of reason for me to hop over for some tunes obviously.

Love these girls, watching them dance at the fest brought me such joy!! Here's to next year!

Thank you, . Our lovely dancers had a great time performing for the Irish Festival and enjoying the food and festivities.

It’s the day! April 1st, 12pm-7 at the Old Church Winery (700 N Main St.) You should be there and that’s that. See you soon ☘️

Introducing our performers for tomorrow!! 🙌🏼☘️

Antonio is a multi instrumentalist from Dallas and has performed throughout the US with his band Reel Treble. He has also performed and competed in the Fleadh in Ireland through out the years since he was 11. He was the first youth in Texas to win the Midwest fleadh placing first in Banjo & mandolin.

Cellist Patrick Hopkins is an active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player having performed nationally and internationally in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, and Suntory Hall. He made his Lincoln Center debut in 2008 as soloist with the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra. Mr. Hopkins joined the faculty of South Texas College in the fall of 2018.

Becky Koehler is a dentist in the valley and Brandt Kronholm is a professor at UTRGV. They have been playing music together since 1998 and married since 2003.

The colibrí children’s choir is a community, auditioned treble choir for students in first through twelfth grade from public, private, parochial, charter, and home schools. The choir has also appeared at many local venues including Quinta Mazatlán, the National Butterfly Center, the International Festival at St. George Orthodox Church, the MLK Celebration at Cine El Rey, UTRGV's production of Carmen, and the Rio Grande Valley Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Fergus Dowling was originally born in Dublin Ireland in 1965 and has been performing solo and with his band The Rovers for many years. He embraces any opportunity to revisit the songs he grew up with.
Katia Dowling caught the performance bug very early and at age 16 already performs locally with her band Monarch and is heavily involved in theatre at pioneer high school. Its always a pleasure for father and daughter to share the same stage.

From around the Austin area, Erica, Jaimee, & Jay are great friends who love a good tune and a step. With Erica on concertina, Jaimee alternating between fiddle and viola, and Jay holding it steady on the bodhran, you’ll be sure to jump up and dance!

The McAllen Fire Department Pipe & Drum Corps played its first performance in July of 2022. Its members consist solely of active-duty McAllen Firefighters—the same ones who respond to emergencies 24/7. As of March 2023, the band has performed 13 events—assisting agencies such as Customs & Border Patrol and other fire departments.

Laura S. Sanchez-Martinez is a Writer, Director, & Storyteller.

The McAllen Session Players meet at the McAllen Creative Incubator on the last Sunday of every month, as a creative community project by McAllen Irish Arts. With players driving in every month from as far as Corpus Christi, the session is open to all players and visitors that enjoy a good tune & good company. The Players often perform around the Rio Grande Valley in varying combinations known as “Gan Ainm”, which means “Without Name” in the Irish.

Dancentre of Edinburg is a local dance studio that puts on an annual Irish show. The dancers become experts not just in classical technique and various dance genres, but also learn how to perform and connect with audiences of all ages.

Aaahhh we’re getting closer!! This Saturday, 12pm-7pm @ the Old Church Winery. Come for the food, the vendors, the tunes, and the friendships that are good for the soul.

Free Whiskey Tasting sign up is now live! (Link in my bio) We’re putting Jameson back on the shelf and trying out something new.. can you guess what labels we’ve chosen for this year? 🥃

Whiskey Tasting registration & performance schedule dropping tomorrow 🤩🥃 Y’all ready?
This Saturday, 12pm-7 @ the Old Church Winery.

Saturday, April 1st @ The Old Church Winery, 12pm-7. Just pop that into your calendar & we’ll be grand ☘️

Halfway through a metal March & 2 week countdown to third year of Briiiiiing it.

New city who dis. All my San Antonio folks, come out to for a rock & roll Irish-Mexican fusion celebration 🔥

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit ☘️

Hop over to tonight for a few pints with us. It’s only right!! ☘️🍻

Come out for a few tunes and steps! I personally LOVE Quinta Mazatlan, if you haven’t been yet or recently today is the perfect day ☘️

Come say hi!! 🎶

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day we invite you to wear green and come out to enjoy the music and dancing of Angelika Eleni, Director of McAllen Irish Arts! Be ready to dance the night away on the Front Lawn of Quinta Mazatlan as Angelika will be inviting guests up to learn some dance moves and dance along with her. Purrfect Bake Shoppe will be here with some Irish inspired baked goods and of course their famous Turtle Conchas!

Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at quintamazatlan.ticketleap.com.

Y’all, it’s time!! Official call for sponsors, vendors, & artists! DM me at or [email protected]
Last year we had over 60 vendors, 15 performers, & 8 visual artists participating. Free whiskey tasting from my studio to you & free beer thanks to sponsoring our shenanigans!
Due to construction work, this year we’ll be partying across the street at the Old Church Winery and I’ve been brainstorming up a whirlwind. Come be a part of the excitement!

Registration opens today for ! Last year was the first time in person and became an instant classic! So excited to be an instructor this year and ready to teach a few shteps 👞👞 If you haven’t experienced a retreat before, this is a great one to start off as a short weekender, packed with fantastic sessions. See y’all there!

McAllen Session Tunes

It's Session week, y'all! This Sunday from 5pm-7pm is our regular monthly session at the McAllen Creative Incubator. All levels of musicians, as well as friendly visitors, are welcome. I've put together a list of tunes as a resource to help prepare for the session, along with a crash course guide on what to expect at a typical session.

Each tune has a link to its notation on thesession.org (written out in tablature and staff notation). If you learn by ear, you can record tunes during the session to take home and learn. This resource will grow and refresh with the session organically.

Can't wait to see everyone!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15yDzJaP1x1wT7E7Bnnh_04KJ3_uW92cJGmaapP1lFAQ/edit?usp=sharing

McAllen Session Tunes Sheet1 Welcome! Céad míle fáilte! McAllen Session Sets!,[email protected],These tunes are not required to take part in the wonderous excitement that is the session! This is only a resource to help newcomers and seasoned participants alike grow their repertoire of common tunes. We take t....

What an incredible, full circle moment for me. More than two decades after finding Riverdance and the music still gives me chills. A testimony to that magic composition that moves, so familiar but feeling new each time. So humbling to work around and learn from top performers that I have seen smash through social media, and even some I’ve seen perform 5 years, 10 years.. 15 years ago (!) on tour in the states and in Dublin. In a field of performance that could be very competitive or material, this experience was supportive, holistic, and inspiring. So happy I had the chance. I’ll be icing the legs for another week though!

En route with .and.banjo to ✈️ The last time we were in Ireland at the same time was a DECADE ago! So hyped to be dancing with the & to finally experience the fleadh 🙌🏼

One week until summer camp! Have you signed up yet? All levels welcome. DM or email for questions 🎶

Foot meet foe. Time to break these in 🥲

Back into it this evening for our monthly music session 5pm at the 🎶

What is a session, you ask? It’s a social event and music jam where we play traditional Irish tunes, occasionally hop into other genres, enjoy good company, and learn new things. Not musical (yet)? No problem, come for the vibes.

All levels, all ages, all instruments
Learning resources available
Last Sunday of every month
5pm-7 @ McAllen Creative Incubator
601 N Main St. McAllen