SHC Parents Sing Songs of the Old Country
by Mark Pardini
June 25, 2018 | Parent News
Shay and Michael Black are singing siblings from Ireland's foremost family of song, The Black Family, which also includes their sisters, Mary and Frances, and brother, Martin. Hailed in The Irish Echo as "one of the most impressive groups of Irish singers to be found anywhere; exquisite, exhilarating and nothing short of thrilling," they raise their sibling rivalry to revelry. The Blacks adroitly accompany themselves on banjo, cittern and guitar. The musical lineup also features fiddle virtuoso Bobbi Nikles, cellist Myra Joy and keyboardist Bryan Seet. At their concerts one can expect to hear traditional Irish ballads, Dublin street songs, music hall ditties, contemporary folk compositions, rollicking reels and joyful jigs, all interspersed with comic stories, jokes and humorous childhood anecdotes that invariably have audiences smiling broadly and joining in on the choruses. Shay and Michael are close harmony singers, with a special fondness for songs that include their audience in chorus, and many of the songs are narratives with stories.