Kick Up Your Heels with a Jig and Sligo Rags Friday in Temecula

Sligo Rags, the Irish/Celtic Rock band that plays at the Temecula Bluegrass Festival every year to a packed house of standing ovations, will be in Old Town Temecula this Friday, August 19 for their only summer appearance of Hot Summer Nights. The band has had a busy summer, playing twice a week at Disney’s California Adventure and almost daily for the past month. Sligo Rags was named one of the top acoustic bands in L.A. by “Folkworks Magazine” and has won the Orange County Music Award for Best Folk Band twice. Playing original and traditional Irish, Bluegrass and Celtic tunes with a rock twist, and always energized with the antics and vocals of fiddler Michael Kelly, Sligo Rags turns rock fans into jig-dancing Irish music buffs. David Burns is an award-winning flat-picking and finger-style guitarist whose vocals and song writing give the band it’s unique flair. Add percussion from Jonathan Baer (who always seems to smile) and the band keeps audiences toe-tapping and clapping. Sligo Rags plays at Baily’s Courtyard from 7 to 10 p.m. Duchicela hails from Ecuador and offers the music of the Andes with their enchanting  tunes played on hand made pan flutes, guitars and percussion instruments. The word Duchicela in the pre-Incan language of Puruhua means “the mountain lion who led the people to their homeland.”  This band spends much of the year performing throughout Hawaii and returns for the summer to hit the Southern California scene. Get a load of the jacha toyos, pan flutes that are nearly four feet in length and provide the deep notes of the Andean  music. These flutes require well-developed lungs and tons of experience.  Another instrument played during their performance is the charango, a small-ten-stringed instrument, that until recently, was made with the  shell of an armadillo.  Duchicela blends traditional Andean folk music with popular cover tunes. They play from 6-9 p.m. at Villa di’ Calabro. For classic rock and Willie Nelson fans, the band Two of Us Plus one plays their final concert of Hot Summer Nights at the Temecula Cheese Company from 6:30-9:30 p.m. What started as a duo with Fred  Schaffer and Craig Chojnowski  has grown to a four piece band - hence the “plus one.” This is actually a four-piece band now with Jennifer Orris on guitar, and Dave Rodway on the drums. Together they play Beatles tunes, mixed with soft classic rock ballads from the1960s and 70s.  An extension of the group’s personality  comes alive when they perform their Westcoast Willie  & Friends segment of the concert, featuring Willie Nelson’s most popular tunes. Rounding out the musical variety night in Old Town Temecula is the Valley Winds Big Band.  Hot Summer Nights is sponsored by the City of Temecula. A community band that plays throughout the year, the Valley Winds Big Band performs with the classic big band style of music stands, slide trombone and clarinet solos, and tunes from Benny Goodman to Stan Kenton. They play 6-9 p.m. in the Tesoro Winery parking lot with plenty of room to swing dance.  You can get a complete list of bands for the remaining Hot Summer Nights at www.temeculacalifornia.com. The event continues through September 2nd.

 Sligo Rags plays to standing ovations at Bluegrass Festival