Quad City Arts presents Tommy Sands, Irish Music Oct. 9

Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist Series presents Irish musician Tommy Sands in a one-week residency Oct. 4-9. Tommy will be joined by family members Moya and Fionan Sands as they present 15 educational outreach activities during their stay. Their only full-length public concert will be Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Redstone Room, River Music Experience, in downtown Davenport. Tickets are $15 adults, $8 students, and may be purchased at the RME Box Office, (563) 326-1333, or in person at the River Music Experience, 129 N. Main Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801.

Tommy Sands, singer, songwriter and social activist has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish Music from New York's Carnegie Hall to Moscow's Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today. His songwriting, which draws the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney and father of folk music Pete Seeger. His songs, like There were Roses, and Daughters and Sons, which have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Matthea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners and many others have been translated into many languages and are currently included in the English language syllabus in German secondary schools.

Irish folk artist Tommy Sands is known around the world as "The Bard of Peace." His songs and stories help create bridges. Through a worldview forged in the midst of the troubles in Northern Ireland, Tommy inspires students to understand the universality of the human condition and the importance of living in harmony. From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, sharing Irish Music from New York's Carnegie Hall to Moscow's Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today. His songwriting, which draws the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney and father of folk music Pete Seeger, prompts Sing Out! Magazine to regard him as "the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world."

This residency is supported in part by a grant from the Riverboat Development Authority.

Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development and celebration of the arts and humanities. All Quad City Arts programs are partially supported by Festival of Trees, Quad City Arts Partners Annual Giving Program and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency) and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Quad City Arts also receives significant support for the Visiting Artist Series from the following: National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest's Performing Arts Fund, Iowa Arts Council, Rock Island Community Foundation, Rauch Family Foundation I, Riverboat Development Authority, Target, Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine and the Davenport Noon Optimists Club.

Local car dealerships donate rental vehicles and hotels provide rooms. Performance space is provided by St. Ambrose University, First Presbyterian Church, Davenport, John Deere and Redeemer Lutheran Church. Additional support comes from service fees paid by school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, service clubs and businesses as well as paid subscriptions to VAnguard. GENESIS sponsors tickets for the public concerts.

http://www.quadcityarts.com/VAS0910/index.html

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