Irish Folk Singer to Perform at Old Poway Park

An upcoming San Diego Folk Heritage concert will feature a Dublin-born artist who will not only sing songs in both English and Gaelic Irish, but also tell stories of his native land.

Irish folk singer, songwriter and storyteller  will perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, at .

“I will sing different songs and take different pieces of music from various parts of Irish history,” O’Malley said. “I’ll be talking about the early Norman invasion of the 12th century, the great famine of the 1840s when many people came to America. I will talk about the rebellions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. ... All up to modern day when we’re finally gaining peace with Northern Ireland.”

O’Malley—born and raised in Ireland but living in Los Angeles for 30 years—enjoys engaging listeners in the history behind the third-largest island in Europe.

“I like to teach my audience about Irish history” he said. “There are many people who come along for folk music and they’re quite intrigued by what they hear. Our history is very important, culturally, in our world.”

With the guitar and mandolin, he will play songs like “Danny Boy,” “City of Chicago,” “Carrickfergus,” “Back Home in Derry” and “Minstrel Boy.”

O’Malley is a self-proclaimed bard, which is a medieval Gaelic and British term for a person who recited oral histories.

“I’m a singer and a bard, which is the clan storyteller,” O’Malley said. “The bard was the gentleman who passed on all the history through the word of mouth through generation and generation. I do that both in song, music and storytelling.”

This is O’Malley’s first performance in Poway. 

“Being that it’s a new venue and a new area and a new audience for me, I’m going to do a concert based on Irish history,” O’Malley said. “I’m also a storyteller, (so) I will talk about many aspects of Ireland’s history and troubles with England.”

General admission is $18 and $15 for SDFH members. For more information, call 858-598-4707 or email chris@­kenomalley.­com.

• There will be a Janet Beazley's Bluegrass Slow Jam at 2:30 pm on Sunday, July 1, at . Bluegrass musicians Beazley and Chris Stuart will lead a session of classic songs for beginning and intermediate musicians. The event is $5. For more information, click here or email Janet at jmbeazley@gmail.com.

•  will host their weekly  at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 28. The free jam session features Gomez Blues Project. For more information, visit their website or call 858-748-1106.