Melbourne Celtic Festival on Tour

Next date: Saturday, 27 February 2027 | 07:30 PM

Melbourne Celtic Festival ON TOUR returns in 2027 with three distinctive acts from Australia and Ireland, bringing contemporary Celtic music, traditional songs and plenty of live festival energy to theatres across the country.

Leading the lineup is Melbourne trio Apolline, whose close-harmony vocals, fiddle, cello and double bass have made them one of the most talked-about young acts in Australian folk. Their music starts with Irish and Scottish traditions but doesn't stay there, drawing on jazz, Scandinavian folk, contemporary songwriting and plenty of musical curiosity. As ABC Radio National puts it, Apolline bring “huge amounts of energy, musicianship and a sense of humour” to the folk scene.

Ghosts of Erin, Tony and Carmel McCabe, bring the Irish side of the lineup. Now based in Australia, the husband-and-wife duo have strong connections to the Irish music scene and are part of the McCabe musical family — Tony is the father of Irish singer-songwriter Dan McCabe. Expect traditional songs, pipes, stories and the kind of Irish humour that comes naturally to a live performance.

Irish-born Cora Browne completes the lineup with her Trio. A familiar face on Melbourne's folk and Celtic music scene, Cora is known for her powerful voice and distinctive purple bodhrán, moving comfortably between traditional Irish music, original songs, blues and other influences.

Three acts, three different takes on Celtic music — from Apolline's contemporary folk arrangements to the Irish traditions of Ghosts of Erin and Cora Browne's mix of song, storytelling and musicianship.

Melbourne Celtic Festival ON TOUR brings the sound of the Melbourne festival to the theatre: contemporary, traditional, Irish, Scottish and distinctly its own.