Sligo band Dervish, distinguished as one of the best traditional groups in the State, is playing venues from Dingle to Newbridge over the next 10 days, having returned from a memorable trip to Colombia.
Dervish is the first Irish traditional band to visit Colombia, where it played three sell-out concerts.
The tour was arranged by an American living in Bogota who had heard Dervish in Sligo. He convinced the National Bank of Colombia to sponsor the tour.
Band members said one of the highlights was a visit to a special music school for disadvantaged children where they were presented with a tiple - a traditional Colombian instrument, like a small guitar. At a concert in Bogota, Shamie O'Dowd played Irish tunes on the instrument.
In an incident linked to human rights abuses, a journalist was killed as the band arrived in Bogota. Dervish is donating the proceeds of its Sligo concert, in the Tower Hotel next Wednesday, to Amnesty International.
The seven-member band has released a new CD, Midsummer's Night, on its own record label. It has already out-sold previous releases. It is the first album to feature new members Shamie O'Dowd on fiddle and guitar and Tom Morrow on fiddle .
Dervish performs tonight in Dingle, Sunday at the Town Hall in Galway, Wednesday in Sligo, Wednesday 22nd at the Red Hot Club in Naas/Newbridge and Thursday 23rd in Dolan's Warehouse in Limerick.