Celtic Crossroads. The name comes from ancient, pre-pub days when Emerald Isle villagers met to work out differences, hear the latest news, and above all share good times, down at the local crossroads. The music comes from the soul and heart, exploding on stage in a evening-long burst of youthful energy and dazzling artistry that fuses traditional Irish music, bluegrass, gypsy and jazz in “The most exhilarating show to come from Ireland in decades.”

Part modern spectacle, part ancient rite, CC’s two hour celebration of all things Hibernian and beyond features seven all-Ireland champion musicians playing on an array of 22 traditional and genre-busting instruments, plus two world class step dancers. It’s been hailed as the Riverdance of Gaelic music, and will capture your imagination and take you on a voyage of discovery you’ll recall for all your days.

In other words, unless you’ve wool of Aran in your ears and Blarney rubble in your pockets, it’ll BLOW YOU AWAY.

Ea ná sé iontach (that’s Gaelic for “Ain’t it just amazing”) what can happen when you come out to the Crossroads? But then, the Irish knew that long ago. Celtic Crossroads website

Even if he weren’t one of this planet’s great artists, new-time old-time vaudevillian Leon Redbone would be a living legend for the simple lack of information, and the sheer amount of rumor circulating about him.

Reports that he was born on the day the stock market crashed in 1929 are unlikely, reports that he’s the son of 19th century violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini still less so, and that he was both existentially impossible. For a time, rumors that he was Andy Kauffman or Frank Zappa in disguise seemed somewhat more plausible. Then both men died, and Leon kept performing. Darn that existential glitch again.

But despite the various conundrums surrounding Leon, he’s still the man who “doesn’t just dig up the past, he embodies it.” (New York Times). In him the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and a host of other early blues, jazz and ragtime greats, comes to life again, not as caricature, but as a living art form. “To me, Blind Lemon Jefferson was the same as Chopin. They were both romantics…. I would say almost everything I do is romantic.”

Maybe that’s the key to Leon. After all, what’s more romantic than a mysterious musical man of genius and his legend? And what’s more fun than coming to Gretna to see and hear him? Leon's Site

Guitar legend Leo Kottke returns to the Mt. Gretna Playhouse, courtesy of Music at Gretna, on Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 8 p.m. for an evening of high fingerpicking artistry.

Leo first came to prominence in the Twin Cities, becoming a fixture at Minneapolis' Scholar Coffeehouse, which had been home to Bob Dylan and John Koerner. He issued his 1968 debut LP, Twelve String Blues, recorded on the tiny Oblivion label.

Now 42 years, 40 LPs and CDs, and hundreds of live concerts later, he’s famed across the globe for feats both lyrical and virtuosic, all performed on his signature six and twelve string guitars.

With a resume like that, and a gig on our stage last year that folks still talk about, it’s no wonder we’re having him back. So if you missed him last year, here’s your second chance. And if you caught him then, our guess is you stopped reading long ago to click the ticket link. More about Leo