Maine-based Celtic band The Press Gang will perform at Next Generation Theatre in Brewer at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, bringing song and dance music of Ireland to life.
These musicians have become popular over the past nine years for their skillful playing and deep understanding of the music — and for their humorous stage presence. The Press Gang includes fiddler Alden Robinson, concertina player Junior Stevens and bouzouki/guitar/banjo player Owen Marshall.
Robinson learned to play the fiddle as a child growing up in coastal Maine. His earliest lessons came from Tamora Goltz, Katie Newell and from the teachers at Maine Fiddle Camp. In college, he studied Irish fiddle in Ireland at University College Cork and in several pubs. He has toured and recorded with The Press Gang. He also loves playing for contra dances and performs with several dance bands, including Riptide, which features Owen Marshall and Glen Loper. Besides Irish music, his repertoire contains a small herd of old-time Appalachian tunes, some Quebecois selections and a growing number of historical tunes traditionally played in Maine.
Stevens is one of the foremost exponents of the concertina and button accordion in the Irish style. He ahs spent two decades surrounded by the thriving Irish music community in America. He has studied with the legendary Noel Hill and received a performance degree in piano from the University of Massachusetts. In 2017, he was named a master musician by the Maine Arts Commission, receiving an artist fellowship. Stevens has been featured on many recordings and stages from local dance halls to the Library of Congress. He taught for many years as part of the faculty at the Hanafin-Cooley CCÉ Music School in Boston. He has been invited to some of the country’s prominent music camps and currently instructs a large body of private students. He holds a B.A. in music from UMass Lowell and is currently on faculty at the Comhaltas Ceoltóir Éireann Boston Music School. He regularly performs with The Press Gang, The Milliners and Sylvain’s Acadian Aces.
Over the past two decades, multi-instrumentalist Marshall has emerged as one of the foremost accompanists of traditional music. Known for his fluid and spontaneous bouzouk work and driving melodic guitar accompaniment, he has toured and recorded with the Seamus Egan Project, Copley Street, Liz Carrol, Riptide, Jena Moynihan, The Press Gang, Wooden Nickels, Haas, Marshall and Walsh, and a Christmas Celtic Sojurn. Marshall recorded his debut album, “Throughline,” in spring 2022. The recording reflects his deep knowledge and love of traditional music of Ireland, Old Time American and the sounds of his New England roots. In addition to being a respected performer and studio musician, Marhsall is in demand as a teacher at music camps throughout the U.S.
Next Generation Theatre is located at 39 Center St., Brewer. Visit bangorceltic.org/tickets/the-press-gang/ for tickets.