Grayling Visitors Bureau

On Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 7:30 PM, the celebrated band Switchback is performing a benefit concert at the Grayling High School auditorium. Proceeds will support the Grayling Rotary Club’s community efforts. The concert will feature your favorite holiday songs, the most beloved Irish melodies and award-winning Switchback originals.

Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack of the duo Switchback have been playing their brand of eclectic Celtic and Americana music at sold-out concert halls, performing arts centers and festivals around the world for almost twenty years. On December 29th of this year, they will make a stop at the Grayling High School auditorium located at 1135 North Old U.S. 27, Grayling, MI. This will be Switchback’s second year in Grayling and since last year’s concert was such a success, you will want to get your tickets early. The concert will feature a mix of holiday favorites, Irish music and a selection of songs from Switchback’s catalog of over 300 original tunes which have been described as “breathtaking scenery for your ears.” In 2008, the Irish Music Association presented Switchback with the award for the “Top Duo in a Pub, Festival or Concert” for the USA, Ireland, the EU and the UK and they were nominated again this year, in two categories.

Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack both grew up in large families and music was a daily part of life. They performed in family bands and worked with many of the top Celtic and American roots music legends including Jethro Burns. It was 1993 when these two talented singer/songwriters formed Switchback and set out on the road to take their “American Roots and Celtic Soul” brand of eclectic music to performing arts centers, music halls, pubs and festivals here in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and other countries around the world. During the period from 1993 to present day, the duo has crafted a series of 12 award-winning Celtic and Americana albums. One reporter wrote, “I was told Switchback fuses Irish, Cajun and Blues musical styles. I wasn’t convinced, so I went to check them out. I walked in the door a doubting Thomas and became an immediate fan.” Switchback’s vast repertoire covers many musical styles, from jazz to country and classical to pop.

Switchback’s holiday concerts are always a crowd pleaser by including lots of audience involvement and singing along with well-known favorites such as “Jingle Bells”, “Away in the Manger”, “Up on the Housetop”, “Oh Holy Night” and “Frosty the Snowman”. In 2005, Switchback released an album titled, A Very Switchback Christmas, which contains all of these songs and others such as, “Silver Bells” and their classic version of “Silent Night” with an extra verse in Gaelic. The show is also filled with stories of their travels and a healthy dose of comedy thrown in for good measure.

One of the highlights of the evening will be a performance of “Ave Maria” by the classically-trained McCormack. McCormack’s very moving version of “Ave Maria” has been heard as far away as Italy, where he performed “Ave Maria” last winter at the world famous Shrine of Pompeii. The performance took place at a special mass written entirely by Switchback.

Last December, Switchback released their 12th album, Ghosts of the River Folk. With Ghosts of the River Folk, Switchback creates a powerful tribute to the people and spirit of the upper Mississippi River, their musical home. Like a ride on John Hartford’s beloved Julia Belle Swain riverboat winding its way down the Mississippi River, this collection of songs takes you through the ever changing scenery and characters that make up this magical part of northeast Iowa. Recorded at the famous Kingsize Studios in Chicago, this roots-rock release features all original tunes by the award-winning songwriting duo of Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack. Switchback is joined by former Brian Wilson drummer Jim Hines, Ellis Clark on keyboards, fiddler Paul Russell, and Grammy award-winning producer Lloyd Maines on Papoose Guitar. Also contributing to this new project are acclaimed accordionist John Williams, who wrote the music for the DreamWorks feature motion picture Road To Perdition, Brianne Bolin on squeeze box accordion, and Siobhan FitzGerald, Maggie FitzGerald and Mike Hagler delivering vocal harmonies.

“With Everly Brothers harmonies and FitzGerald’s whirlwind and soulful guitar and mandolin work, Switchback romps and reels with audacity and talent.” – Performing Songwriter Magazine

Tickets are just $10 and will be available from any Rotary Club member or JJ’s Motor Mall, Century 21 River Country RE, Edward Jones, or Flowers by Josie, all in Grayling.

Visit Switchback on the web at www.WayGoodMusic.com