MARQUETTE - Cathy Jordan said she and her Dervish bandmates are excited about coming to America from Ireland.

The traditional Irish music group - based in Sligo, which is a musical hub in Ireland - will be stopping in Marquette March 9 as part of its U.S. tour.

"We all love coming to America every year," Jordan said in an email interview. "Touring is so easy in the states, great venues, great enthusiastic crowds, the roads are great and the hotels are lovely and comfortable. I love so many parts of the states, like the West Coast for the sun, East Coast for the music and craic (fun) and Michigan for the people."

The band plays at small venues and huge festivals and enjoys every stop along the way. Jordan said coming to Michigan is a big part of the pleasure.

"We've played in Traverse City before alright but we've played all over Michigan in the past and have made many friends," she said. "Particularly John Sheffler who hosted the 'Front Porch' radio program for many years."

Jordan described a Dervish show.

"We play high energy tunes from the west of Ireland, reels, jigs, hornpipes that bring the audience to their feet regularly," she said. "On the other hand we perform many songs which range in subjects from jilted lovers, wandering minstrels, mournful immigration songs, sailors and soldiers and queens.

"There's also lots of entertaining stories."

Jordan provided info about the members of Dervish:

- Brian McDonagh: Brian was born in Dub(lin) and moved to Sligo in the '80s for art college. In the '70s he was part of traditional group Osian who toured all over Europe. Brian's influences would have been bands like, The Bothy Band, Planxty and Clannad. When Brian moved to Sligo he started playing in sessions. It was there he met Micheal, Shane and Liam, this was to be the beginning of Dervish

- Michael Holmes: Michael is from Sligo and his background was not in traditional music but rather music played by bands like The Smiths, The Who, The Pretenders, Blondie etc. He played the bass for many years before getting the trad bug, which made him take up the Bouzouki and play in the sessions.

- Cathy Jordan: I was born into a singing family and have being singing from the age of 3. Both my parents loved to sing and singing songs were a regular occurrence in our house. I learned many ballads from them through the years. I sang in many bands through my teenage years and also played solo gigs. I met the lads from Dervish when they were in Who Says What and used to play support to them at various venues. When the lads were looking for a singer, I seemed to be the obvious choice. Our first album together was Harmony Hill.

- Tom Morrow: Tom we consider to be the "new guy" as he's only been in the band for 18 years as opposed to the rest of us at 26 and 27 years. Tom won an all Ireland title for fiddle playing in 1995 and his musician background is in traditional music.

Internationally acclaimed Dervish will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 9 as part of the Northern Michigan University Northern Nights concert series. The event was moved to Kaufman Auditorium in Graveraet Elementary School on Front Street. The concert was originally scheduled to take place in Northern Michigan University's Forest Roberts Theatre, which is undergoing renovations that will not be completed in time.

Current ticket holders should visit the NMU ticket office in the Superior Dome to return their tickets and select new seats in Kaufman Auditorium. For more information on tickets, contact the NMU Ticket Office at 227-1032.

Renee Prusi can be contacted at 906-228-2500, ext. 240.