Kaya Coffee House will host a “House-Style Concert” on Thursday, May 31 with Nic Gareiss and Jessie Nieves: Life After Limerick! Concert will start at 7:30. (From 7:00 to 8:00, Kaya will be open for food & drinks to concert goers; $10 suggested donation for concert.)

Two prodigal Michigan traditional artists return home this summer to share of their adventures! ‘Life After Limerick’ presents the story of Michigan natives: Jessie Nieves and Nic Gareiss, who attended The Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, a conservatory-style school that is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the foremost institutions of traditional music and dance training in the world. Now, having both graduated from UL, Jessie with a MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance and Nic with a MA in Ethnochoreology, the pair have returned to Michigan eager to share their experiences with the traditional music community that fostered them artistically.

‘Life After Limerick’ tells the story of the educational voyage of these two young musician/dancer/scholars as encountered through this remarkable institution. Through tunes, songs, and dance steps, Jessie and Nic share their experience of living in Ireland: the joys, and occasional mishaps of acclimating to a new cultural environment and ultimately, the realization of just how deep the roots connections between Ireland and North America run.

Jessie Nieves, born and raised in Saline, Michigan, has been playing the fiddle for 16 years. A graduate of the Saline Fiddlers, she has shared the stage with Natalie MacMaster, and studied with living Irish fiddle legend Siobhan Peoples.

Nic Gareiss (Canadian Folk Music Nominee for Traditional Singer of the Year) has danced on national Irish television and on CMT, performed with the Chieftains, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, and studied under former Riverdance lead Colin Dunne.

(That’s my edited version of Kaya’s announcement of the concert — let me add that Jessie was a fine fiddler *before* she headed off to get a masters in traditional music performance, and Nic is unquestionably one of the world’s foremost dancers in his style, routinely performing with the top talent in the Irish Traditional Music World. This concert gets my highest recommendation — colomon)