8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Th e sounds of Ireland
Inaugural Coastal Celtic Music Festival brings ‘pub rock,‘
old country sounds to Long Beach Peninsula
By JONATHAN WILLIAMS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
or bands and audiences alike,
an Irish pub is the ideal place to
relax, eat, drink and share sto-
ries with friends.
This is also what Crown Alley Irish
Pub owner Dan Tobin in Ocean Park,
Wash., wants to bring to listeners at the
fi rst annual Coastal Celtic Music Fes-
tival, taking place Friday through Sun-
day, March 22 through 24, and featuring
10 bands from Washington and Ore-
gon: Annie Henry, Katie Jane Band, That
Irish Guy, The Bold Doherty, Sons of
Malarkey, Stout Pounders, Castletown,
Curlew’s Call, Marian DiCicco and the
Shameless Celts, from Long Beach,
Wash.
Tobin, who opened the pub last June,
hosts live music every Friday and Sat-
urday night. The festival musicians, he
said, are upbeat “pub rock” bands that
often interact with the crowd.
The festival starts at 5 p.m. Friday
and ends at 9 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are
$30 Friday, $60 Saturday, $50 Sunday,
or $100 for all three days. The bands will
also play at the Chautauqua Lodge, Pen-
insula Arts Center and Shelburne Hotel.
Tobin likes the storytelling element of
Celtic and folk music. “I feel like there’s
something about music that can really
touch anybody, and it doesn’t matter
if you’re from the same walk of life or
even speak the same language, you can
enjoy music with somebody,” Tobin said.
He wants festivalgoers to relax and
enjoy the music, food and drinks with
their friends.
“I hope that people come down here
and see the passion that has gone into
this,” he said, “the passion that comes
through in the music from the people
who are playing.”
F
Stout Pounders
Stout Pounders in concert.
“I hope that people
come down here and
see the passion that
has gone into this.
Th e passion that
comes through in the
music from the people
who are playing.”
The musicians
For That Irish Guy, aka Ireland native
Emmet McElhinney, music is in his
DNA.
Sons of Malarkey
Sons of Malarkey.
Dan Tobin,
owner of Crown All ey Irish Pub