Join Downtown Wichita Falls Development for the Saint Patrick’s Day Street Festival. The event will be Saturday, March 12. This annual celebration promotes downtown and Irish culture.
This year's concert will include Ian Moore and the Lossy Coils. Moore is a prolific singer-songwriter who gained popularity as a guitar prodigy. Winner of seven Austin Music Awards including "Best Musician", "Best Band" and "Best Electric Guitarist," he has opened tours for the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and ZZ Top. The Lossy Coils, features Moore, bassist Matt Harris, and drummer Kyle Schneider.
The festival will also feature The Dirty River Boys. The band generates an energetic blend of tight narrative songs, bluegrass drive, multi-part vocal harmonies, gospel passion, and a solid dose of rock & roll attitude into a potent mix that is all the more amazing for being entirely acoustic.
You can also expect an exciting reunion from one of Wichita Falls’ most beloved bands, Bigloo. After an 8 year hiatus, the band will return to their hometown to perform their unique brand of eclectic rock. The band will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their creation and playing crowd favorites spanning the entire catalog of their multifaceted career.
Downtown Wichita Falls Development is excited to announce TWO Irish bands will round out our concert schedule this year. Celtic Aire and Shannon Folk will be joining Ian Moore and the Lossy Coils, Dirty River Boys and Bigloo for the Festival.
Celtic Aire is the premier Celtic and folk ensemble of the United States Air Force. Formed in 2007, the group is comprised of five Airmen musicians from The United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the U.S. Air Force. This small ensemble regularly performs at official functions for military and civilian leaders including the president, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the U. S. Air Force chief of staff. As part of The U.S. Air Force Band, Celtic Aire honors those who have served, inspires American citizens to heightened patriotism and service, and positively impacts the global community on behalf of the U.S. Air Force and the United States of America.
The Shannon Folk was formed in 1967 when folk music and ballads were popular due to the success of The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners. The group calls Killaloe, Ireland, in County Clare home. The band, comprised of John Grimes, Jack Hogan, Mike Quigley and Michael Scanlon, performs traditional Irish music and has played all over the world. The group has performed at the Saint Patrick’s Day festival before, but this will be first time the original four members will reunite in many years. Expect folk instrumentation including a five-string banjo, concertina, harmonica and concert flute. The group will perform traditional Irish songs about great battles and great loves.
The celebration unfolds with traditional music, dancing, food truck vendors and much more. Gates open at 3:00 p.m. and will last until 10:30 p.m. on the corner of 8th and Indiana in historic downtown Wichita Falls.
Pre-sale general admission is $12, pre-sale for students and military with an ID is $10, and day-of general admission is $15. Children age 12 and under are free.
All profits generated from this event benefit Downtown Wichita Falls Development, a non-profit organization. Their sole focus is improving the downtown area in order to make it a destination for residents to live, work and play. Profits from this event are dedicated to the restoration of the historic Zales Building. The building is expected to be available for lease this Spring.