Through veteran craftsmanship, Switchback strives for authenticity in the Celtic songs it plays.
The duo of Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack performs music of the Emerald Isle at 7 p.m. March 12 in Munster’s Theatre at the Center.
“Our show is really kind of like an evening in the parlor of Irish music,” McCormack said in a recent phone interview. “We’re going to play some old Irish-American favorites. We’ll also do the very traditional Irish step dances. We’ve got two fantastic professional Irish step dancers that are going to be joining us that evening.”
Ian Schwartz and Orla Godley are highly decorated dancers scheduled to show off upbeat choreographic moves.
A native of Woodstock, Ill., McCormack also said he and FitzGerald would be accompanied by Takeshi Horiuchi.
“Takeshi’s a traditional bodhran player,” said McCormack, citing the Irish drum that Horiuchi will play.
Lauded by McCormack as one of the stellar mandolin players in North America, FitzGerald also is a guitarist who lends stature to a duo with a reputation for tight musical craftsmanship.
Switchback has had several albums released under the stewardship of Grammy-winning producer Lloyd Maines, who has produced tracks for country music standouts Jerry Jeff Walker and the Dixie Chicks.
While also versed in American roots music, Switchback’s chief claim to fame is its Celtic soul.
Together for three decades, FitzGerald and McCormack started out in traditional Irish music.
“I’m an Irish tenor,” said McCormack, a 53-year-old Chicago resident.
He is Switchback’s primary singer and an acoustic bass guitarist.
McCormack and his music mate have logged tour dates in Sweden and the United Kingdom. A key stop was the venerable Mike Malloy’s, a pub in Ireland’s County Mayo.
Switchback’s reputation has earned the duo some exposure on a popular prime-time program.
“One of our songs got picked up by NBC for the ‘Grimm’ television series,” McCormack said.
“Pour Me” was used in a 2016 episode of the Friday night occult-themed show, which was inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales.
At the Munster show, Switchback is slated to perform “Connemara Man” — one of its own compositions.
“It’s about the resilience of the Irish spirit,” said FitzGerald, a resident of Lansing, Iowa.
Also set to be rolled out in Munster is “Star of the County Down,” which FitzGerald calls his “favorite Irish tune.”
FitzGerald lauds the subject matter and compositional qualities.
“It’s one of those brilliantly written tunes about love at first sight,” he said. “We have our own arrangement of it.”
One of the tunes in Switchback’s repertoire that would do Dublin proud is the heart-tugging “Danny Boy.”
Additionally there is Irish-jig fare and an original, lilting Switchback work called “Bolinree,” which alludes to the farm of McCormack’s grandfather in Ireland.
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner on March 17, Switchback is celebrating a joyous time of camaraderie and good cheer.
“There’s nothing like St. Patrick’s Day to kick off spring,” FitzGerald, 57, said.
Contributing to the rich sound of the live performance will be fiddler Paul Russell, who is FitzGerald’s nephew.
“It’ll be a fun night,” McCormack said of the Irish musical stew that is in store for concertgoers.
“They’re going to get the full Irish display,” he said.
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Switchback
Where: Theatre at the Center in The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, March 12
Tickets: $30; group rates available
Information: 219-836-3255, www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com
