LYNN — The Chieftains, led by the venerable Paddy Maloney, kept the St. Patrick’s weekend party rolling with a lively, eclectic, entertaining two hours of traditional Irish music, dancing and more Sunday night at Lynn Auditorium.
The Chieftains, Ireland’s musical ambassadors, are on their 56th anniversary tour, and Maloney, who will be 80 in August, remains a genial host of this Celtic-themed variety show.
Maloney (tin whistle, uilleann pipes) and longtime bandmates Matt Malloy (flute) and Kevin Conneff (bodhran drum, vocals) were assisted by four talented musicians, two dancers and a seemingly never-ending cast of special guests.
Local guest stars and a singer from Lynn played a major role in making the show a festive success.
The Ruby Slippers, a dynamic audition-only choir of 15 talented young women from Wenham’s The Academy at Penguin Hall preparatory school, wowed the crowd with versions of the standard “Shenendoah” and Elvis Costello’s “The Long Journey Home.”
Lynn’s Molly Geaney, a junior at the academy, was featured vocalist during a stirring performance of the Wailin’ Jennys’ “Storm Comin’.” Molly, the daughter of Kevin and Christina Geaney and granddaughter of Kevin and Priscilla Geaney, all of Lynn, displayed a powerful voice and was strongly supported by her choir mates.
Taunia Soderquist, director of music at the academy, said “Molly is such an incredible young lady. She has one of those voices that no matter what you are doing, you stop and listen. She wows everyone the second she opens her mouth. She’s an all-around incredible musician, as she also plays stand-up bass and electric bass.”
Soderquist said the young ladies work hard but have a lot of fun. The Ruby Slippers will participate in their first-ever competition Friday night as part “North Shore Perfect Pitch,” a charity event sponsored by the Beverly Rotary Club at the Danversport Waterfront.
Also, six young women from the Goulding School of Irish Dance in Medford and the kilt-wearing North Shore Pipe Band performed.
Guests included former astronaut Cady Coleman, who in 2010 played Maloney’s tin whistle and Malloy’s flute on the International Space Station 93 million miles from Earth.
The show ended on a wondrous note. While the band reeled and rocked, dancers and singers, including the Ruby Slippers (their red shoes and sneakers stood out), started a snake dance on stage and moved up and down the aisles, adding audience members at every step. At show’s end, there were nearly 100 people on stage.
Nearly every one of the 2,100 seats in the auditorium were filled, and the Chieftains and crew were able to make this seem like an Irish session in an intimate pub.
