All Irish, All Day: The Songs of the Season Ring Out East to West Across Cleveland

There are plenty of great Irish acts to catch while you’re getting sloppy drunk on green beer and shots of Jameson. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights.

When it comes to St. Patty’s Day, the local Pogues cover band Boys From the County Hell are the hardest working band in town. They play at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Happy Dog where they celebrate their 15th anniversary. They also play at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Stone Mad before starting St. Patty’s Day off at 9 a.m. at House of Blues. You can find them around the corner at Flannery’s at 1 p.m. and they’ll wrap up at the Harp at 9 p.m.

The locally based traditional Irish band Donegal Doggs plays the Hooley House in Brooklyn on Sunday. On Monday they bounce between the Quaker Steak and Lubes in Cortland and Austintown and Sterle’s Country House.

Local Irish rockers Mary’s Lane join Irish dancers and bagpipe players at P.J. McIntyre’s at 1 p.m. and will perform all day. Not sure if they’ll participate in the Lucky Charms eating contest, but they definitely should.

Great Lakes Brewing Company will open at 9 a.m. on St. Patty’s Day and offer music courtesy of Ceud Mile Failte, High Strung Irish Band and the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums, who’ll play respectively at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Stamper’s in Fairview Park celebrates four days of St. Patrick’s Day. Pitch the Peat perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dublin Irish Festival favorites The Drowsy Lads play at 9 p.m. Friday and Harp City takes the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday. The Burke Irish Dance School takes over at 4 p.m. on Sunday, and Dave Sizer, the Magic Man, Irish Cottage Boys and Harp City perform on Monday.

Paddy Rock Super Pub opens at 7 a.m. and features music from the Roundabouts, the Portersharks and the Pipes and Drums of the Cleveland Police.

Galen’s Irish Band and Pop Rocks will play at Around the Corner in Lakewood starting at 6 p.m.

For the past 10 years, House of Blues has hosted a big St. Patrick’s Day party and this year is no different. The Spazmatics, DJ Sparky B and the Prodigals all perform in the main music hall and the Boys from the County Hell, DJ Sparky B, Mary’s Lane, and DJ Brooklyn play in the Cambridge Room. The music starts at 9 a.m.

Donal O’Shaughnessy will be providing live music at the Flat Iron “until the Guinness runs out,” which won’t happen, so strap yourself in for a full day of entertainment. Flat Iron’s doors open at 7 a.m.; the music starts at 11 a.m.

Claddagh, in Legacy Village, opens at 9 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day as Tom Hagley starts performing at noon. Uncle Festers then plays from 4 to 7 p.m. and DJ Haze wraps things up from 9 p.m. until close. Bagpipers and Irish dancers will also be on hand.

New Barleycorn is back at Nighttown this year. They’ll play at 5 and 7:30 p.m.

The live music at Brothers Lounge starts at 8 p.m. Mo Mojo will play big-band music in the main music hall and Velvet Voyage will play jazz in the wine bar.

This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2014.