Burning Bridget Cleary: News

Hey everyone!

I can't believe it's been months since the last update. Strange! Well we had a few shows recently, and they all were great fun. The steel city coffee house was lovely as always, and thank you all to coming out to the firebird festival in phoenixville. Also we had a show at George School which was phenomenal. We had a really fantastic time, and all of the students and staff were so friendly and had great energy. (Thank you John Stevens for letting us sit in your lap-it's love!) An awesome show. This past weekend we played at WDIY's 15th Birthday Bash on the radio and for all the members. Funsiez! Well we obviously are so excited for this coming year. We have an awesome show on April 17th with Tempest and Coyote Run at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville-get excited. This summer we're taking a small tour down south to Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, so all you people down south, keep an eye out for some madness! We are beyond pumped little chickens and are soooo excited to tour. The new CD is coming along, and although it may take awhile, we'll try and put a few of the new songs on the website before the release. BBC has also been nominated for two Celtic Radio Music Awards! Here is the website-http://www.celticradio.net/. So sign up, and vote for us! Lastly, I just want to say that, as the entire world is, we're very upset by the earthquake in Haiti, and urge you to donate money to the Clinton Foundation, and the Red Cross to help those in dire need. You can simply text to donate! Just text "Haiti" to 90999. I've done it and I think I'll do it again today! We're such a fortunate and well-off country, and we can all afford to give a little to the victims in Haiti. Well, this is all! We love you guys and we really really really hope to see you lots this year!

Love,

Rose and BBC

Hi! It is autumn and I must say, it is my favorite time of the year. It's gorgeous and of course we can all cozy up in a room and share a lovely night of music and drink together! (Minus the drinking part because Genna and I are like five.) So we have some hot shows coming up. I must push this Tin Angel show because it is honestly going to be a blast. We have a bunch of fun new material, we may be throwing out a bit of candy and other treats!  You really don't want to miss this one! Also we have Chaplin's Music Cafe and of course the Steel City Coffeehouse coming up. So please plan accordingly! Also, if you haven't already, find us on facebook for more updates, pictures, and exciting announcements you won't get anywhere else! If you don't have a facebook, stop trying to fight the man, and just get one. We also have a street team group if you're interested! It's super easy to use and you'll love it. We promise. Well time to watch America's Funniest Home Videos. Hah! Goodnight loves! Love, Rose and BBC

Hey guys and dolls,

So how do you like the new layout? I'd say I love it! Today, we played the Allentown Fair...woo! Me and the rents ate too much icecream, and now we're all downing tums and alka seltzer...fun for us! But not really...it's awful. Sunday, we play the Pocono Garlic Fest. Ha! That should be fun! Genna and I are back in school, Genna being in her freshman year and I in my sophomore. Woohooooo for work...So we have started work on our third CD, and although progress is slow at the moment, we hope to swing into full recording mode soon. There are so many exciting things coming up. One thing I'm mad pumped about is the 2009 Celtic Classic at the end of September. That is like one of my favi fests ever and we have two sets both Friday and Saturday. Also, Genna and I will be judging the celtic fiddle competition on the Sunday of that weekend! We're also getting excited for the Tin Angel gig on the night of Halloween. Get your tickets anytime! It's honestly going to be an incredible show and we are so happy to be coming back. Keep checking the calendar and feel free to leave comments...we love to hear from you! See you soon! :)

Love,

Rose and BBC

Okay, so BBC has some mad exciting things coming up and I personally cannot wait. On Sunday, we're playing at a festival in Bristol, and it's going to be super sweet. Also, this year is insane with all of the awesome venues we're performing at. We have Musik Fest, The Blackstone Valley Fest, The Celtic Classic, The Tin Angel, Steel City Coffeehouse, and my personal fav, The Philadelphia Folk Festival. I have been going to that festival since I was born, and it means so much to me that I get to perform there! Also, keep it on the DL but BBC is getting prepared to start recording a third CD. We have some amazing new material, and great ideas, so we are stoked. Also, Genna and I are going back to the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina this year, and will be studying with Martin Hayes, and Kevin Burke, and jamming with the best folk around. Also, if you're on facebook, join the BBC music fan page! Well, we'll keep you updated, but right now I'm going to purchase a frisbee and throw it around my yard...by myself. Hah! Love!

Love, Rose and BBC

Hey kids,
So guess what. It's almost Summer...and that makes me so happy. We just had some fantastic gigs. We played Siamsa Pub in Stroudsburg...always a favorite. We also played the Braveheart Pub in Hellertown, and met some fine folks who just got married, as well as many others. We also opened up for Enter the Haggis at Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. What a great venue. The crowd was great, ETH was great...really superb. If you look on their video blog on youtube, you'll see us talking to them backstage. Fun for us! There is also talk of starting a new CD...hm so we'll keep you updated on that. Genna is almost done senior year!! I'm almost done Freshman year...wooo, and my session in West Chester is going well. Man, we really have the best audiences, thanks so much for coming out to our shows. We love you guys. Hope to see you this summer!

Love, Rose and BBC

Hey music listeners,

Burning Bridget Cleary has got some really exciting things in the works for this year! We were recently played on WXPN on the Gene Shay show, and have an interview on his show on this station on February 8. One of the cuts from our new CD was published on Fiona Ritchie's "Thistlepod" podcast last week, so keep an ear out for our music! We were given a fantastic review by Jack Baker this month in his column "Piping it in", published in the January Irish American News out in Chicagoland. We have some great shows coming up in Philadelphia at the Tin Angel, and in Virginia at their yearly Highlands Festival. We are so excited and know this is going to be a great year for Celtic music! What fun for us all! Keep an ear on the radio and an eye on our calendar for more BBC music and news. Love you all and see you down the road!

Love, Rose and BBC

Hello loves,

So it's finally here! We're releasing our new CD, Everything is Alright, next month! We have two fantastic CD release parties so make sure you get out to at least one of them. The first is at the Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville on December 13 and the next is in Bethlehem at the charming Godfrey Daniels on December 14. If you come to both shows, we'll give you a high five! These are both such great places to see a show and if you want a good seat order your tickets right away! We are so very excited for this CD and if you want to hear some samples you can go on to our myspace, www.myspace.com/burningbridgetcleary3 and hear some samples from it. If you listen to the Saucy Sailor you'll hear our fun improv in the middle of the song. We decided to just go insane and have fun with it which is what the CD is all about! Thank you all so much for listening and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows!!

Love,

Rose and Burning Bridget Cleary

Bonjour! We have been quite busy recording our new CD which is due out in the next couple months! We're so excited for the CD release parties, so make sure you check the website and mark your calendars. Also, this Saturday we are in Maryland at TWO places so check our calendar and see if you can get out to one of them! Quick update about our lives: Genna has been busy with her ballroom dance and school, I've been attending West Chester University which is lovely, and Lou has been busy recording his original new tune for the CD. See you Saturday!

~Rose and BBC

Hey kids,

I am currently eating blueberries. This past week has been amazing for the entire band! We took a trip down to Asheville, North Carolina and attended the Swannanoa Gathering's Celtic Week. Genna and I studied with Jim Malcolm and Martin Hayes, and played with tons of other amazing musicians such as Liz Carroll, Aoife Clancy, Billy Jackson, John Doyle, Kevin Crawford, Gerry O'Connor, and John Carty. Genna and I wrote a new song which may possibly be on our next CD due out soon, and we also wrote a new tune. It was honestly one of the best weeks of our lives but it's good to be home.

We have a gig coming up on August 2nd at Brittingham's Pub. Don't disappoint us! I expect to see all of you there decked out in fan gear! Haha kidding...we don't have fan gear...but no seriously be there! If you come we'll play you our new tune...first audience to hear it! See you all there...love!

Rose and BBC

P.S. After a couple different attempts, we are finally on MySpace! Here's the link: http://myspace.com/burningbridgetcleary3

Hey chickens,

Can you believe St. Patricks Day is in a few days? I'm so pumped. This year we're playing at Puck in Doylestown, the Saucon Valley Country Club, and The Covered Bridge Inn. We really hope to see you over the weekend! Puck is a club like atmosphere (over 21) and will be extremely fun. I had my college music audition this past week and it went really well so we'll see! I also am auditioning for another university for music education so wish me luck yes? I also learned to drive stick shift today hah although I stalled a million times (not good) but alas! I will one day be fantastic at it. Well kids please make it out to one of our shows this weekend you won't regret it!
Rose and Burning Bridget Cleary

Hey!
So my family and cousin went to Ireland this past November and it was absolutely fantastic. Genna was busy in her play MacBeth (she was the lead yeah boy!) We basically stayed on the West Coast and it was gorgeous, it was a fantastic trip. We played with Sean Garvey as well as Amergin in Kenmare which was an awesome experience. We also met a few fantastic musicians such as Hugh Healey and John O'Gorman in Ennis at the Old Ground Hotel. That was honestly the must fun session I have ever been to in my life. Everyone was in super high spirits, one guy kept mumbling random things in my ear, another was bleeding all over his guitar, and everyone was dancing. It was the best ever. In the beginning of November, Burning Bridget Cleary got airplay on a variety of NPR stations nationwide. Listen for us! We also have some excellent shows coming up so check out or calendar and get out there! See ya around!
~Rose and Burning Bridget Cleary

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to all from Lou, Rose, and Genevieve!

We ended 2007 in grand style, taking part in Bethlehem’s spectacular First Night Celebration. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate and dance in the New Year! The acoustics at the Salem Lutheran church were stellar! It was a blast!

There are some exciting new gigs coming up, and, we want to take this opportunity to share some related “Bridget Cleary” events.

First! This Saturday, January 19th, we’ll be appearing at the SnowBlast Winter Festival Blizzard Ball in Emmaus. (It’s fun just to say that)! The SnowBlast Festival runs Friday night and Saturday with all kinds of family activities – indoors and out. For details and ball tickets, check out their website at www.snowblastwinterfestival.org or call them at 484-201-0026.

Next – an intriguing story about our connection with Bridget Cleary. Most of you have heard Bridget’s cruel story, the story of a lively young woman who fell ill, was accused of being a “fairy witch” by her husband, and was eventually burned to death by his hand. Michael Cleary, and those who passively stood by, were eventually convicted of murder and sent to prison. Thereafter, laws were changed in order to protect women from such terrible acts. Our band, Rose and Genevieve especially, found this a compelling story and one which should be remembered.

This past November, Lou and Rose’s family traveled to Ireland for a long awaited family holiday. Of course, it was a priority mission to find Bridget Cleary’s house! Along the way, asking directions, we found that the cottage is well known among local people as the “Fairy Cottage”. After several u-turns, we found it, on a narrow farm lane, between the little towns of Cloneen and Drangan in Co. Tipperary. It was unoccupied, with a realtor’s sign out front that read “Sale Agreed”. We recognized it from pictures that we had found on various internet sites – there is no identifying marker.

It was a thrilling moment to have found the place and we couldn’t resist looking around the vacant property. (See attached photo of the front door). On a whim, we left one of our CDs and a note, hoping that the new owners would write us.

On Christmas Eve, we got an e-mail with “Fairy Cottage” in the subject line. It was from the brother of the new owners, passing along a message of thanks for the CD and an invitation to tour the house the next time we were in Ireland. We were excited beyond belief and so thankful for this Christmas greeting! And, this brings us to the next bit of news in Bridget’s ongoing saga.

There is a theater company, from Waterford, Ireland, traveling to NYC this week to put on a play, “Are you the Wife of Michael Cleary?”. Below, I have copied an e-mail from Philip Furnell, the brother of the owners of the fairy cottage. He gives the details about the play (only 6 shows, running Tuesday through Sunday of this coming week). There has been very little, if any, publicity about the production.

We are going to drive up on Friday night to see the show. We know it’s not “around the corner”, but if anyone has friends or relations in the New York area, please pass this on, as we would like to support our Irish friends in their venture to bring this piece of history to life. As John Seraphin says, “We’re all in this together”! Here’s the e-mail:


Hi Lou
I spoke to my brother and he will send you some pics. Have you read the book that came out last year about it, there was a tv documentary made from it also. Its very good and has photos of the inside of the house. see here...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burning-Bridget-Cleary-True-Story/dp/1844139344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200174699&sr=8-1
We all went to Waterford last wednesday night to see the play thats going to new york, "Are you the wife of Michael Cleary". It’s on in the Irish Arts Centre, 553 west 51st street, NY. Tickets at www.smarttix.com It’s on 15th to 20th of January. We spoke to some of the theatre group, and ticket sales are slow so they need people to go!!! We told them about your band and they said they would love to meet you! I think my girlfriend Linda is going on the Friday night with some friends. She says it is not well advertised.
Sorry we could not get to you on new years but we had a full schedule. Maybe another time? I am watching seattle against green bay right now (in Ireland). very exciting, 14 to 7!!
all the best
Philip

Hey kids,
Well we just played at the Cooldog Concert Series this past Sunday and it was absolutely amazing. The house was beautiful and even though it rained, we played in the upstairs concert room. We opened up for Cara, an incredible Celtic band from Germany...and I had the honor of jamming with them a bit after the show. They are absolutely amazing musicians and have the most wonderful personalities so it was such a great gig. This coming Saturday BBC has the Irish Oyster Festival in Reading, so come see us! It's going to be a really great festival...don't forget the Green Lane Scottish/Irish Festival too. I was actually over in Green Lane Park today playing tennis and eating Wawa hoagies with my friend. They seriously have the best sandwiches ever. But the park was already decked out in festival stuff already, and there are about a trillion signs everywhere...so come see us there too. Hopefully we'll see you this Saturday!
~Rose and BBC

Everyone in the entire world,
A huge thank you to everyone who came out and saw us on Saint Patricks Day...and those of you who didn't...no big! There will be plenty of opportunities coming up so don't freak out. The Covered Bridge Inn was supa fun and a big thanks to Ron for making that happen. Also a great thanks to Patrick for the wicked article in the Souderton Independent. So, I (Rose) got a new violin which I am psyched about. Anyone who hit up the Covered Bridge Inn were the first to hear it so good for you! It's a 1976 fiddle (one of about 200) made in Montana by Olaf Andersen and I am basically in love with it. Well everything is going great and make sure you keep checking our news and upcoming dates for shows! Talk to you soon!
~Rose and BBC~

Hello people of the land! We hope your Christmas was an excellent one! Personally, I think it should have snowed but it's cool. Anyway, we would absolutely like to invite all of you to come over to Porter's Pub in Easton for Kilt Night! It's going to be an amazing night and we shall be playing there. I for one am pumped! The address is on this website so come check it out! Happy New Years, yayyy for 2007!
Lovely Dovely,
Rose and Burning Bridget Cleary

Hello everyone!
We would like to thank every single person who made it to Godfrey Daniels! You all made it a sold-out show which made it super exciting to play there! I know I can speak for all of us when I say that we've been wanting to play an amazing place like this for years. It was really weird because my Dad and I have been there so many times, and yet we managed to get lost for about 45 minutes on the way there. We basically drove around the entire town of Bethlehem and that was hilarious considering in the end we weren't even close to it. No big no big! I hope you all had a great time and leave us comments in our guestbook for they are quite fun to read! I hope we see all of you at our next show at Porter's Pub on January 6th. I hope you all have a superb holiday season, see you soon!
~Rose, BBC

Hey everyone! Well we just started this new website which is pretty exciting. We also will be having a CD release party coming up at Godfrey Daniels in November so look for us. Hope to see you all there!