CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The ceilidh this evening in the Katherine Hughes Memorial Hall in the Irish Cultural Centre , 582 North River Rd., Charlottetown, will feature popular Island folk music group The Pendys, with Michael Pendergast, up-and-coming singer songwriter Shane Pendergast, his uncle, Tom McSwiggan, and fiddler Andy Doucette.
There will be a 50/50 draw during the evening at the air-conditioned hall, and a light lunch is served during the intermission. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8. Admission is $15 at the door with children 12 and under, $5. For more information, call 902-213-3924.
Shane Pendergast hails from Tracadie Cross, the grandson of two Irish tenors and the son of the well-travelled local musician, Michael Pendergast. Shane has just recorded a soon-to-be-released album of folk music steeped in East Coast tradition and performs regularly during the winter in Toronto, where he currently attends film school.
He will be accompanied on vocals by McSwiggan, who is originally from County Tyrone, Ireland. A master of the button accordion, he holds court with his many comical stories collected over his 83 years. He is the founder of the long-running Malpeque Ceilidh and Stanley Bridge Ceilidhs which still run weekly on the North Shore through the summer and fall seasons.
Doucette, who is from Deblois, also guitar and bass. He will bring an Acadian flair to the night with his lively fiddling and fast-tapping feet.
