The Bridies

2010 Grand Marshals

The Bridies

We are very pleased to have The Bridies as the 2010 Grand Marshals.

Comprised of the fiddle soloists and accordianist from Michael Flatley's "Riverdance", "Lord of the Dance" and more recent "Celtic Tiger" shows, The Bridies are an explosive group of high-powered, high-caliber, dynamic musicians that produce a unique blend of Celtic music, song, dance and comedy unsurpassed by anything you have seen or heard before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MarieMáire Egan (fiddle, vocals)  

    One of the soloists from Michael Flatley’s world renowned  Lord of The Dance,  Máire calls  County Offaly, Ireland home. Born into a family steeped in traditional music, she learned to play many musical instruments from an early age. With many All-Ireland titles to her credit, Máire has always been very active in the music scene throughout Ireland and Europe. When she moved to  Australia in the 1990's, she played with Sydney based bands 'Roisín' and  'Reels on Wheels'. She accepted the lead role of fiddle soloist with 'Riverdance' for their extensive five month tour of Australia. During this tour, Michael Flatley offered her the role as a fiddle soloist with the original production of Lord of The Dance,  which was just about to take America by storm.
She has performed with the production since, touring the USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Australia. Máire moved to Las Vegas in 2002 to perform with the production when Michael Flatley reopened his show at The Venetian Hotel and Casino Resort. Joining forces with close friend and fellow fiddler, Brenda Curtin, the girls formed 'The Bridies' and performed at many local venues in Las Vegas. Their debut CD '4 and 9' was recorded in 2004 and released during their 4 month nationwide sellout tour of Ireland later that year.

In 2005, Máire and Brenda composed and arranged all of the music and songs on their second album,'13' which was released in October 2005. In 2006, The Bridies toured Ireland again where they promoted their second album.

When she is not performing with the Bridies, Maire has performed with Michael Flatley’s new show, Celtic Tiger, which made its debut at Madison Square Garden, New York in 2007.
She appeared in Croke Park Stadium with The Bridies for the Irish equivalent of the Super Bowl.
In 2010, The Bridies plan a five city USA tour beginning in March. They also plan on performing at several Irish festivals during the year including their 6th invitation to perform at the Green Tie Event in Denver, Colorado for the Metro Community Providers Network (MCPN.)


BrendaBrenda Curtin (fiddle, vocals)         

One of the soloists from Michael Flatley’s world-renowned Lord of the Dance Show, Brenda was born and raised in Tournafulla, Co. Limerick in the West of Ireland. Her family is steeped in both traditional Irish and classical music. She has a B.A. degree in music and has won numerous All-Ireland titles in fiddle, singing and lilting (Celtic yodeling ). 
She performed on the Late Late Show on RTE and with Van Morrison at the Millennium concert in Dublin.  Brenda has also performed for Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Lisa Minnelli at a 1989 concert given in their honor in Dublin. She joined Lord of the Dance in 1998. During her association with the show, she played in more than 1,500 live concerts touring the USA, Canada and South America in addition to a six year run in Las Vegas. Brenda’s love of fiddling cemented the musical relationship that evolved when she met her co-fiddler, Máire Egan, in the Las Vegas production of Lord of the Dance.  The girls formed 'The Bridies' and performed at many local venues in Las Vegas. Their debut CD '4 and 9' was recorded in 2004 and released during their 4 month nationwide sellout tour of Ireland later that year.
                         
They returned to Las Vegas in January 2005 and composed and arranged all of the music and songs on their second album, '13' which was released in October  2005. Brenda and Maire have worked with Michael Flatleyon his new show, Celtic Tiger, which has performed in Budapest, London and Madison Square Garden.

           

EilisÉilís Egan (piano, flute, accordion, vocals)

An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Éilís spent a number of years touring the world with the original production of Riverdance, including the successful Broadway run. Before joining  Riverdance,  she enjoyed a busy career as one of Ireland’s most sought-after traditional musicians. She has toured, recorded and performed with various artists including The Eileen Ivers Band, Brian Kennedy, Shaun Davey, The Frankie Gavin Quartet and the traditional band Reeltime.   
Éilís performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland at the Special Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies which was televised worldwide from Croke Park, Dublin. RTE contracted her as a soloist for their Irish tour with the National Concert Orchestra as they performed The Seville Suite. As a result of the huge success of this tour, The Orchestra Sinfonica de Gallcia, conducted by Proinnsias O’Duinn, invited Éilís to perform again as a featured soloist, along with Zoe Conway and Fionnuala Hunt.  
Éilís has also toured extensively with various bands including numerous performances with the 'Riverdance Flying Squad'  in Bejing, China and the Middle East.  Riverdance returned to New York in March 2005 to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Once again, Eilis, along with all of the original members of the  Orchestra, took their seats at the famed Radio City Music Hall. 
Éilís first joined The Bridies for a series of concerts in the USA in March 2003. She went on to co-produce both their debut album ‘4 and 9’ and their second album ‘13’.  She has worked extensively in TV, film and theatre.  Her solo album, 'Mám Éan' is available on The Bridies’ website. She is also working on her new solo album which is due to be released early next year.


MichelleMichelle Mulhaire (vocals, guitar, percussion)

Michelle was born to music. Her grandfather, the great Tommy Mulhaire, renowned traditionalist whose compositions are known to this day by purveyors of Irish music everywhere, introduced and instilled a life-long love for music in Michelle from an early age. This was further enhanced by her dad Brendan Mulhaire, whose long career in the music business, particularly during the show band era in Ireland, expanded her tastes beyond the traditional genre. Michelle is an accomplished drummer, guitarist, pianist, and singer - equally comfortable with a jazz melody as she is singing pop, rock and roll or Irish ballads.
Michelle lives in Galway City where she played drums and sang with Eamonn Murray. She also played keyboards with ‘Bandstand’, a seven piece big-band, was the former lead guitarist with ‘Belladonna’, an all-girl rock band and is Musical Director for ‘The Mark Roberts Band’.
A third generation professional musician, she has worked and toured all over the world with Carmel Dempsey, one of Ireland’s leading entertainers. Michelle joined The Bridies in March 2004 for a sell out series of concerts in Las Vegas. Because of the success of these shows, she has since become The Bridies’ full time drummer and lead singer, complimenting perfectly this dynamic all female ensemble. Michelle’s debut album ‘Can I Call on You’, features a wide and varied selection of her amazing vocal abilities, drumming and guitar talents.  The CD is available on The Bridies’ website.

The Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN)

is a nonprofit organization providing medical and health education services to the underserved since 1989. Their mission is to provide excellent health-related services focusing on the underserved. Their current service areas encompass Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams and Park Counties and the City of Lakewood and Aurora. MCPN has one of the largest population bases of any Community Health Center in Colorado and the largest number of underserved individuals in the state.  
 MCPN was created in response to the indigent healthcare needs of Jefferson and Arapahoe Counties, and the City of Aurora and Lakewood. Their first clinic doors opened in Aurora in 1989. Since then, they have grown to 13 sites and several community-based case management programs. MCPN provides case management and health education programs in the following areas:

  1. AmeriCorps Service Learning Programs for Adults, where health education and outreach services for MCPN patients and clients are provided.
  2. Health Education Classes comprised of Diabetes, Asthma, Childbirth, Smoking Cessation, Family Planning and Healthy Living.
  3. Healthy Start Project, providing care coordination for pregnant women and families with infants up to two years of age in Aurora, Englewood, and Sheridan.
  4. Perinatal Services, creating effective linkages for pregnant women with the MCPN service system and providing Doula Birth Coaches.
  5. Services for Aurora’s Homeless/Indigent Populations, serving the community at MCPN’s Elmira clinic.
  6. Services for Pregnant and Parenting Teens, working with pregnant and parenting youth in Aurora ages 11 – 19 years. These services include: resource information, help returning to school or getting a GED, support, advocacy, home visits, case management and the teen clinic.

Every March, MCPN hosts the annual “Green Tie Event” to raise money for their programs.  The Bridies have returned year after year to perform at this event.  For more information, please visit www.mcpn.com.

Parade Info: