It’s 7:10 p.m. and a small crowd has gathered outside of Rice Auditorium.
At 7:20 p.m. the doors open, and the crowd enters to see a green, dimly lit stage and before long Irish music is filling the auditorium.
“The music is reminiscent of Irish-American dance,” Susan Buehler, director of the Artist and Lecture Series, said. “It’s like 1920s jazz that is infused with Irish.”
The Baker University Artist and Lecture Series was host to the David Munnelly Band Tuesday evening.
The band, which is from the county Mayo, Ireland, played a variety of Irish jigs and songs, which attracted a crowd of students as well as people from the community.
“The Munnelly band is by far the best Irish band I have heard,” Buehler said. “They are one of the best bands I have listened to, period.”
Buehler saw the band perform at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, where the group has been center stage for the past several years.
“It was really interesting,” junior Rachael Moon said. “It was different.”
Moon’s favorite part of the performance was the jigs. She was scheduled to run spot light for the band, but ended up watching instead.
David Munnelly organized the band in 2001 after playing with the Chieftains, another Irish band, for a number of years.
“I had to buy the CD,” sophomore Cheyenne Barron said. “You just can’t listen to it without being in a good mood.”
Barron said the band did really well with crowd interaction, and she enjoyed the dancer that performed.
Buehler said because this is her final year at Baker, she is unsure as to whether the band will return in the future.
The David Munnelly Band was the final musical performance of this year’s Artist and Lecture Series.
Margaret Lowman will be the final speaker at 7:30 p.m. April 14 in McKibbin Recital Hall.