Name: Randal Bays and Marty Smith in Concert
Start: 2025-09-13T20:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-09-13T22:00:00-07:00
Location: United Irish Cultural Center

Irish fiddle, bouzouki, and songs—a powerful evening of tunes, songs, and stories that span continents and generations.
About this Event

Doors at 7:30 pm/Show at 8 pm

Get ready for an unforgettable night of traditional Irish music as internationally acclaimed fiddler Randal Bays and dynamic bouzouki player and singer Marty Smith take the stage for a one-night-only concert at the United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco. This rare West Coast appearance pairs the passionate, West-of-Ireland–inspired fiddle playing of Bays with the driving rhythms and rich vocals of Smith, promising a powerful evening of tunes, songs, and stories that span continents and generations.

Randal Bays lives in Seattle but is well-known on both sides of the Atlantic for his fiery fiddling and his devotion to the traditional fiddle styles of the west of Ireland. He has a special love for the fiddle music of Counties Clare and Galway, where he's been a frequent visitor for many years. Randal has toured and recorded with many great musicians including Martin Hayes, James Kelly, James Keane, and Daithi Sproule. In 2021 he received the Irish Artist in America Achievement Award from O’Flaherty Irish Music. Besides the fiddle, Randal is highly regarded for his fingerstyle guitar playing, including two seminal albums with Clare fiddler Martin Hayes in the early 90s. Randal is very active as a teacher of Irish music and is Artistic Director of Cascadia Irish Music Week. Website: www.randalbays.com

Marty Smith, bouzouki and songs - Marty grew up in rural Wyoming where he got fired up about Irish music from going to music festivals with his family. When he heard the bouzouki he decided that was his instrument, although he also plays guitar and several other instruments. Marty is also a fine, strong singer with a large repertoire of traditional songs. He now lives in Colorado where he's played many gigs at pubs, festivals, and private venues. He's also taught at music camps and school outreach programs across the Rocky Mountain region, both solo and in different collaborations with some of the best musicians in the region.