The O’Shanigans contra dance band perform Celtic, American and world Fiddle tunes suitable for contra dancing, general entertainment and weddings. Fiddle and dance tunes from: New England, Southern Appalachia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Finland, Sweden and the Middle East! We currently combine the skills of two of Ithaca’s most experienced open music jam leaders with an incredibly talented young fiddler and violinist, joined by occasional special guests. We have our own sound gear and a publicity network to help gain attention for your event. We love to play our music for weddings and especially for contra dances! The O’Shanigans is: Phil Robinson on guitar (Ithaca Bluegrass jam leader, multi-instrumentalist), Tim Ball on fiddle (Contrapasso, Tunescape, IC violinist and etc) and Michael Ludgate on mandolin (Canaan jam leader, waltz jam originator, CMEMME member and etc). We may substitute other well qualified musicians if any of these members are not available for a particular event.

The contra dance band O’Shanigans was originally formed by Phil Robinson to fill a fun gig for Saint Patrick’s Day in March of 2009. The members shift and change a bit, but Phil and Mike are usually at the core. Yes, you guessed the name was coined as a spin off on the word shenanigans and that first Irish gig! But we play way more than Irish! We have not lost our sense of humor even when we hit a few bumps in the road! Our email address  oshanigans@canaaninstitute.org Our web page is here  http://www.canaaninstitute.org/oshanigans.html