Brother members Hamish Richardson, Angus Richardson and Dave Allen

Celebrating its 10th year, the Indy Irish Festival serves up an exciting range of all things Irish Sept. 16-18 at Military Park. A beacon of Irish heritage in the Midwest, Indy Irish Festival presents traditional and progressive Irish music, dance performances and cultural activities along with copious amounts of Irish food and drink. See the eight-page pullout for details.

Music is constant throughout the festival, along with dance programs by the Indianapolis Irish Dancers and John Timm and Celtic Footforce. Indy Irish Fest music ranges from the traditional to the mongrel. Gaelic Storm, Off-Kilter, Brigid’s Cross, Brother, Gael Sli, Hog Eye Navvy, Three Men in Kilts, Siochain, The Kells, Searson, Don & Alberta Latham, Fountain Trust Bagpipe Band, Pat Grant, Chulrua, Dalriada Society and IFD Emerald Society will all be performing, with many bands playing each day.

And, if that is not enough music for you, Post Festival Session Parties are scheduled to begin at 10:30 Friday and Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel with admission benefiting St. Vincent dePaul Society.

While the full music and performance menu holds many charms, sets by Searson, Gaelic Storm and Brother are highly anticipated.

Searson is somewhat of a family Celtic-folk and step-dancing band from Eganville in southern Ontario that includes Mike Searson and his daughters Erin, Colleen and Heather along with Jamie Gardner. A Searson performance is like being invited to an exuberant family house party. House Party is the name of their 2002 CD release and their newest kick-ass Celtic release is called Follow. Sharp traditional instrumental skills mix with contemporary sensibilities. Searson whips its music into a frenzy with twin fiddles, mandolin, bodhran, acoustic and electric guitar, bass and the all-important shoes. Erin Searson shines on lead vocals.

Gaelic Storm formed in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1996 and jumped into the spotlight with their performance as an Irish party band in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. The band’s current lineup features musicians from Ireland, England, United States and Canada: Patrick Murphy (accordion, harmonium, vocals), Steve Twigger (guitar, bouzouki, vocals), Steve Wehmeyer (bodhran, didgeridoo, vocals), Ellery Klein (fiddle), Ryan Lacey (drums and percussion) and Pete Purvis (highland pipes). The all-acoustic instrumentation of Gaelic Storm does not lack electrical sparks and their vocal punch delivers humorous lyrics mostly to do with playing Irish music with abandon and drinking pints.

Australian trio Brother will likely deliver the most high-energy rocking performance at Indy Irish Fest. Brother is Hamish Richardson (vocals, bagpipe, didgeridoo and guitar), Angus Richardson (vocals, bass, bagpipe, guitar) and Dave “Dalbo” Allen (drums and percussion). Brothers Hamish and Angus left Australia a decade ago and landed in Los Angeles, where they hooked up with drummer “Dalbo” and have since blazed a trail of do-it-yourself bootstrap touring and promotion that has led to a cult following on the Celtic rock circuit. Setting up their own label and promotion company, Brother set out to deliver what they call “Australian mongrel rock”: a fusion of rock, Celtic, folk and world beats that is very high-energy and immediately engaging.

Daily admission to Indy Irish Fest for adults is $8 in advance and $12 at the festival gate. Students age 14-18 with ID get discounted ticket prices and children 13 and under are free. Weekend passes are $20 for all ages and admission is free on Sunday morning from 9:30 to 11:30 with a donation of canned goods for St. Vincent dePaul Food Bank.

Tickets can be purchased at Claddagh Irish Pub, Border’s Books and Music, Fifth Third Bank, Indiana Historical Society, O’Malia Food Markets, O’Brien Family Automotive, Killybegs Irish Import Shoppe, Northside Knights of Columbus, Grif1’s Irish Restaurant, Pat Flynn’s Pub, Golden Ace Inn and MacNiven’s Tavern & Restaurant.