St. Patrick's Day All About the Beer and Green Stuff? "No, Nay, Never!"

March 12 2010 by Bridget Daly

IrishDrummer-wr.jpgAh, St. Patrick's Day...

Second to Halloween, my favorite holiday - and the one I hold very dear to my heart. Why? The green beer? Yuck! No. The ridiculous green top hats? Um, no. The shamrock bead necklaces? Cool, but no. Celebrating the patron saint of Ireland? Sorry, not really. For me, nothing says St. Paddy's Day like the music.

Just thinking of March 17, I get excited for the yearly ritual that is sure to come. My Irish relatives and friends (and my friends unfortunately not lucky enough to have ancestors from the Emerald Isle) take a holiday from our careers and map out the day according to where the best music will be, at which Irish pub and at what time. The fun begins around 10:00 a.m. I know what you're thinking. This is an excuse to start drinking in the morning. No. Surprise, surprise...To me, St. Paddy's Day doesn't have much to do with drinking at all. Instead, it's about sitting in an old Irish pub with my loved ones, slamming our glasses on the wooden table, screaming the words to every traditional folk song from the homeland that we've heard over and over and over, but somehow never gets old.

If you've never experienced the pounding of tables and a collective voice of hundreds singing, "No! Nay! Never! No, Nay Never, No More.....!" Then I say you haven't really lived.

For those of you that don't dare leave your house on this holiday that rivals New Year's Eve on drunken disorderly arrests - I say, seek out a REAL Irish pub, not the local bar that happens to have an O' before its name. Not sure what a REAL Irish pub looks like? One clue is that typically the pub won't have American sports on TV and green beer is never, ever served.

While you're likely to find excellent local Irish bands in your town (look around, they exist, I promise. There are lots of us!), you may also want to check out this list of some of the most popular bands to see on St. Patrick's Day.

It wouldn't be traditional Irish music if it wasn't covered by a punk band. It's true. Punk and Irish music go hand in hand. Why? I have no idea, but I'm not complaining. The quintessential Irish boys from Boston, Dropkick Murphys, can be found in their hometown on March 17 (as always). If you aren't into the slow moving folk sound, these guys may be more your pace.

A little bit traditional, a little bit rock and a little bit punk, Flogging Molly is typically liked by young and old alike. This band is lots of fun and they're playing Luckyman's St. Patrick's Day Bash in Tempe, Arizona this year.

Gaelic Storm is playing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 17. Traditional all the way and arguably the most popular Celtic folk/rock bands around. Gaelic Storm is made up of fantastic, talented artists that write their own versions of Irish folk that will be around for years to come.

The Cheiftains are often referred to as the "Gods of Celtic Music." All traditional, all the time. These are professional Celtic folk artists and if you're looking for a real traditional music experience, it doesn't get much better than this. This year, they will be in New York City at the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.

So, if you aren't lucky enough to be Irish, that's okay. As we like to say, "We're all Irish on St. Patrick's Day." And if you are, then I leave you with the old saying, "If you are lucky enough to be Irish, then you are lucky enough." Sláinte!

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