Join three superlative—and superlatively fun—Bay Area bands for an evening of hard rockin Irish traditional music!

Name a musical act after one of the great warriors of Irish legend, and you'd better be prepared to crank out some energetic, larger-than-life performances. Culann's Hounds does the trick with their self-described "punk-Irish-hoedown" sensibility, grounded in the mythic energy and spirit of traditional Irish music. The melodies of Steve Gardner (fiddle) and Renee de la Prade (button accordion); the harmonies of Mike Kelleher (guitar); and the driving rhythm of Scott Marshall's bodhran meld with rich vocals that are a staple of the Irish tradition.

An emotive and stunning performer, Lucia Comnes is a singer and violinist with a rich background in ethnomusicology. Her music draws on traditions from far-flung corners of the globe, as she takes her audience on a journey around the world as well as into the depths of the human soul. A San Francisco native, Lucia discovered traditional Irish music during a summer tour in 2001, and this led to the study of many other forms of traditional music, including Eastern European, Turkish, and Rom (Gypsy).

From Alaska to Argentina, the Gas Men have been mightily entertaining audiences with their Irish traditional music (jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas) since the early 1990s. While the band has been through a number of personnel changes through the years (they previously performed at the Freight as Orla & the Gas Men), the current lineup is a force to be reckoned with, featuring Vincy Keehan (mandolin, guitar, vocals); Kenny Somerville (banjo, guitar, vocals); Vinny Cronin (flute, whistles); Cormac Gannon (bodhran, vocals); Barry O'Connel (accordian); and John Caulfield (fiddle, mandolin, vocals).