Strafford News

It was 1855 when 13-year-old John Hunt left his family’s home in Kilkelly, Ireland, to come to the United States. He would never return to Ireland or see his family again, but over 100 years later the letters his father wrote him would provide the tear-provoking tune “The Ballad of Kilkelly Ireland.”

Listen to this song and many others in “The Softer Side of Celtic,” a musical performance by Jeff Snow, on March 13 at 6:30PM at the Dover Public Library.

Growing up in a home where old Scottish folk songs were the everyday sounds, Snow developed an early love for Celtic music. Much of the history of Scotland, Ireland and England was preserved in songs and Snow will share the tales during his performance.

His music has been described as “quiet and relaxing” and, while much of it is, every once in awhile Snow will break out into foot stomping songs. Each concert is a little bit different and adapted to the response and interest of the audience.

Snow is a talented multi-instrumentalist who shares the music, and the stories behind the music, of Scotland, Ireland and England. In concert, he plays the guitar, autoharp, bouzouki, and dabbles with most of the instruments in the percussion family. When not performing, Snow is a private guitar teacher and the author of the teaching method “Guitar Basics and Beyond.” He was featured in the December 2006 issue of Acoustic

Guitar Magazine and is a contributing writer for Acoustic Guitar and Autoharp Quarterly Magazines.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the library’s website at library.dover.nh.gov or call (603) 516-6050. Library hours are Monday-Thursday 9 AM-8:30 PM, Friday and Saturday 9 AM-5 PM, and Sundays 1 PM-5PM.

Original source can be found here.