By: Jeff Meade

The Irish Rovers

After 40 years of touring, the Irish Rovers and their music are like your favorite sweatshirt—a bit ragged, but still warm and comfortable. Sure, the tunes at the Christmas concert at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside were old and dependable—talk about your chestnuts roasting on an open fire—and the whiskey and wife jokes were well-worn and calculated to offend no one.

Still, it’s hard not to cozy up to the Rovers, who—after so many years in the business—still know how to deliver the goods. For those who filed into the Keswick on a cold December night, it was a rip-roaring start to the holiday season.

The night was filled with Christmas music—“Bells Over Belfast,” Christmas In Killarney, “The Christmas Traveler,” and the always tasteful “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” No one can say they didn’t get a snoot full of Yuletide carols.

The boys also spiced up the performance with several lively sets of reels, a few traditional ballads such as “Welcome Paddy Home.” Of course, the Rovers obligingly pounded out their pop hits, “The Unicorn” and “Wasn’t That a Party.” The audience was invited to sing along, but they didn’t really need to be asked. You couldn’t have stopped them.

It probably escaped no one’s notice that the Rovers have more than a few miles on them. Still, they’re polished pros, and they play with the energy of men half their age. They’re helped along by Sean O'Driscoll, who plays a multitude of instruments, including banjo, bouzouki and tin whistle. Even though he appeared to be the youngest guy on the Keswick stage, at times he seemed to have trouble keeping up with the old fellas.

At this rate, the Rovers could keep going for another 40 years.