tuned to truth
Coppers & Brass is always happy to return to Iowa City’s most charming pub with our friends the Champagne Irish Dancers.
Next Saturday, March 14, we are delighted to also welcome Colin Nies to share a very special song with us.
No cover charge, no televisions, no need to cook dinner and wash dishes because the food at the Sanctuary is delicious and the service can’t be beat. Come celebrate with us!
Hello friends!
Has it been another month already? No, it’s been two!
In February, Coppers & Brass collaborated with Champagne Academy of Irish Dance, McGovern Music Studio and United Action for Youth to record Charlie McGettigan’s Feet of a Dancer. We’re so proud of the result and we’d love it if you would share widely. All proceeds benefit United Action for Youth in celebration of 50 years of serving eastern Iowa youth and families.
Click on through for more information and to download the single.
March is packed with opportunities to celebrate and support local music and traditional heritage arts.
Friday, March 6 at 7 pm, Keith Reins and I will be joined by Champagne Academy of Irish Dance to provide traditional Irish music and dance for the Coffeehouse Nights series at Lowe Park Arts and Environment Center in Marion.
Saturday, March 14 at 6 pm, Coppers & Brass along with Champagne Academy of Irish Dance will return to our home away from home, Sanctuary Pub. As a seasonal treat, we are delighted to feature Colin Nies on his rendition of Fred Weatherly’s “Danny Boy” set to the traditional Northern Irish tune “Derry Air”.
Tuesday, March 17 at 5:30 pm, Coppers & Brass will be hosting a traditional Irish session at Kalona Brewing Company. All are welcome to play and/or listen. The Champagne Academy of Irish Dance will be concluding their long day of parading and performances with this family friendly celebration and Colin will join us again for this session.
Friday, March 20 at 7 pm, Coppers & Brass as well as my fiddle trio Urgent Collective will be featured at Bucktown Revue, the monthly live music-and-humor variety show at Nighswander Junior Theater in Davenport. Also on the program is zither master Tomy Temerson from Germany. Each of us in the fiddle trio (Natalie Brown, Matt Manweiler and me) has composed/arranged a world premiere piece for this performance.
Friday, March 27 at 7 pm, my folk-rock duo with Jeffrey C. Capps The Soft and Low will be returning to the gem of Swisher, Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery. As much as I love Irish trad, I equally love my collaboration with Jeff and I will be looking forward to this performance all month.
Lots of music-related travel coming up in April and May, including another tour with Hot Tamale Louie, so I’ll catch up with you again in a couple of months.
I hope to see you in March! Sending you love and wishing you well.
Tuned to truth,
Tara
Keith and I are delighted by the invitation from the Marion Arts Council to share traditional Irish music and dance along with our friends Champagne Academy of Irish Dance at Lowe Park on March 6!
All proceeds from downloads benefit United Action for Youth.
The song is also available on Spotify, Google Play and all the usual streaming services so please consider a direct donation to United Action for Youth if you choose to stream.
A collaboration spanning decades and continents unites Iowa’s beloved Irish trad band Coppers & Brass, Irish step dancer Tréa Champagne, TCRG, Champagne Academy of Irish Dance and McGovern Music Studio for a song to benefit United Action for Youth.
All proceeds benefit United Action for Youth in celebration of 50 years of serving youth and families in Eastern Iowa.
“Feet of a Dancer” is by Charlie McGettigan (Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland).
This arrangement also features the original hornpipe “Champagne Dancers” by Keith Reins and the reel “Castle Island” by Timothy M. Dillon.
Coppers & Brass
Frank Claudy, flute and whistle
Joseph Dutcher, bodhrán and vocals
Tara McGovern, fiddle and vocals
Keith Reins, guitar
Tréa Champagne, TCRG, Irish step dance and vocals
Additional vocals by dancers/musicians of Champagne Academy of Irish Dance, McGovern Music Studio and our marvelous youth singers Anna, Eviva, Honora, Lauren, Lilia, Lorali, Nina, Nolan, and Rose.
Recorded at United Action for Youth in Iowa City by Kylie Buddin and Nick Mendoza. Mixing and sound editing by Kylie Buddin.
Cover art by Elyse Chapman in cooperation with Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
We’re very grateful to Elyse and CCPA for allowing us to use this logo which originated with the first collaborative performance of this song at I LIFT MY LAMP: songs & stories of Irish immigration on November 16, 2019 at Coralville Center for the Performing Arts in Coralville, Iowa.
Hello friends,
Happy New Year, one and all!
The Soft and Low, my folk-rock duo with Jeffrey C. Capps, has developed a largely unintentional but nevertheless delightful habit of landing performances on the full moon and January is no exception.
The Soft and Low, Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery
Fri, Jan 10 – 6-9 pm
1441 Marak Road NW, SwisherCome for the tunes and the wonderful food and libations and let the full moon follow you home. More details here.
Hawkeye Area Grand Gaelic Isles Society (H.A.G.G.I.S.) Burns Dinner 2020
Sat – Jan 18 – 4-10 pm
St. Wenceslas Church Hall: 1224 5th St. SE, Cedar Rapids
Coppers & Brass, my Irish trad band, is delighted to provide music for this traditional annual Burns Dinner featuring Scottish food, ceremonial readings and toasts, bagpiping, Scottish social dancing, a raffle, and a dessert contest. The absolute deadline for reservations is January 11th. Go here to reserve your spot.
Burns Night hosted by David MacLeod Burt
Sat – Jan 25 – 7 pm
Sanctuary Pub in the Red Room: 405 S Gilbert St in Iowa City
This is a double fun opportunity because Burns Night begins at 7 pm in the Red Room and then the wonderful Saul Lubaroff is playing from 8 to 10 pm in the main area of the Sanctuary.
In February, Coppers & Brass, Tréa Champagne, and a collaboration of Champagne Academy of Irish Dancers and McGovern Music Studio musicians head into the studio to record a single to be released digitally as a fundraiser celebrating the 50th anniversary of United Action for Youth.
And then comes March. Oh, March! Never not a doozy. Stay tuned for the whirlwind.
I’m sending you love and wishing you well.
Tuned to truth,
Tara
Hello friends!
I hope that all of you had a warm and nourishing Thanksgiving. December is full of seasonal fun! Here’s where you’ll find me celebrating all the treasures of this month:
Ron Clark’s Small Miracles – Fri, Dec 6th – 7-9 pm
Uptown Bill’s, 730 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City
A beautiful and rare offering by my friend and mentor Ron Clark:
“Get out of the cold and enjoy an evening of heart-warming holiday storytelling with Small Miracles, a moving, one-man show by Ron Clark. Small Miracles takes the audience on a nostalgic, heartfelt journey as Clark shares his recollections of growing up in a small Iowa town where the mayor/street cleaner doubled as Santa, a courageous dog, a terrifying audition for the fifth grade Christmas pageant, and his stint at a department store Santa. Clark’s vivid storytelling will captivate you and bring to mind your own fond memories. This show is perfect for the whole family.”
The Soft and Low Carol Countdown! – Sat, Dec 7th – 7-7:30 p.m
Sanctuary Pub, 405 S. Gilbert St, Iowa City
Doesn’t this just sound like something you need to experience?! Be sure to drop me a note with your carol request and then show up to see if yours makes the list!
and definitely stick around following the carol countdown for…
Coppers & Brass Christmas – Sat, Dec 7th – 7:30-9 p.m.
Sanctuary Pub, 405 S. Gilbert St, Iowa City
Celebrate the season with a traditional Irish twist. Coppers & Brass is proud to present our very last performance of 2019 with gratitude for the amazing year we’ve had as a band. We look forward to seeing you many more times in 2020 and beyond.
The Soft and Low – Fri, Dec 13th – 7-9 p.m.
Wild Culture Kombucha, 210 N. Linn St, Iowa City
Jeff played at this great new venue a couple of months ago, but this will be the first time for our duo! While we’ll play much of our standard fare, you can bet that a couple of those holiday songs will sneak into this set, as well. Come for the tunes, and stay for the delicious kombucha, beer & wine!
Champagne Academy of Irish Dance Irish Christmas Céilí – Sat, Dec 21 – 2-5:30 pm
South Slope Community Center, 980 Front St, North Liberty
A fabulous afternoon of Irish dance and music! Irish dance (beginners to champions from Champagne Academy of Irish Dance) & music performance with a social dance (Céilí, no experience needed!) and potluck to follow featuring Caller Tadhg Mac Aindriú and the Champagne Céilí Band of which I am a proud fiddler. Doors open at 1:30pm. $16 at the door, 4 and under free. Contact Trèa Champagne TCRG for more details.
Wherever you are and however you choose to spend this season that can be so cold and dark, please know that I am wishing you all that is calm and bright.
Tuned to truth,
Tara
Please join Coppers & Brass and the sister schools of Champagne Academy of Irish Dance and McGovern Music Studio for an Irish music and dance spectacular on Saturday, November 16th at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
I LIFT MY LAMP is the first of several events presented by Coralville Center for the Performing Arts inspired by “I lift my lamp beside the golden door” from the sonnet inscribed on the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty – “The New Colossus” by American poet Emma Lazarus.
The aim of the series is to highlight the immigration stories that enrich our nation and to celebrate our immigrant friends and neighbors.
