The grass grew a little greener outside the Irish Cultural Heritage Center last Thursday.

Maybe it was the breezy spring like April weather, but upon approaching the door and hearing the jovial sounds of traditional Irish music fill the air inside, there was a sense that there was more to it than mere meteorology, something more atmospheric.

Coincidentally, this may be the perfect adjective that could be used to sum up the sound of a band like Altan. Like most Celtic rock outfits, the band's music leans heavily on romanticism and imagery to compliment its whimsical and spirited sound, and after 20 plus years and countless world tours, they've nailed their style down to a science.

At the helm of the Donegal five piece is singer/fiddler Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. Mild mannered and soft spoken with the sort of thick Irish brogue you simply can't mimic or fake, Mhaonaigh is the face behind the music, the incarnated spirit of Altan's sound, style and sensibility. She's sweet yet sincere, confident but humble and down to Earth. Altan's music has always adhered to these same qualities, holding the values and tradition of their native homeland at the forefront and center of everything they do. In spite of their standing as world wide ambassadors of traditional Celtic music, having done tours in countries seemingly so far outside their realm as Japan, the sounds of Ireland never stray too far from the band's heart.

"We've always played Irish traditional music, and we always will, even though we get around all over," confessed Mhaonaigh. "It's our only source of pure, direct musical inspiration. We appreciate all kinds of other music, as an artist you have to. But Irish music will always be our one direct source of musical inspiration."

Although this might sound like a stubborn refusal to progress and move forward, it makes sense coming from a band as firmly embedded in their roots as Altan. The band's members, which also consist of Mhaonaigh's husband Dermot Byrne on accordion, Ciaran Tourish on whistle, Ciaran Curran on bouzouki, and the dueling guitars of Mark Kelly and Daithi Sproule have a musical history that spans back generations. Mhaonaigh's father was a revered fiddle player in Donegal, while Byrne's father Tomas taught his son the ropes on the accordion. The rest of the members have similar backgrounds, where music was very much a family affair.

"I think there's definitely a strong family base in the type of music we play," said Mhaonaigh. "It's something that can evolve both musically and within your personal relationships. It's all very intermarried, almost a lifestyle. We do this everyday, whether we're at home, on the road, wherever. It's just something you grow to depend on and need, like oxygen."

Thursday's show brought the band back to Milwaukee after numerous successful stints at Irish fest, and the band has fond memories of their time spent in the city over the years.

"Milwaukee has always been great fun," Mhaonaigh admitted. "The (Irish) Festival has always been great too, especially in regards to meeting and playing along with other musicians. And who could forget the heat, my goodness."

The fun and excitement Mhaonaigh speaks of could be felt from the moment the band took the Heritage Center stage. After some cordial banter with the disciplined but nonetheless eager and enthusiastic audience, the band quickly got down to business, offering up a diverse set that moved swiftly and skillfully between slow, emotive acoustic ballads ("As I Roved Out) and up tempo spirited guitar and fiddle fests ("Tommy Peoples"). While such divergent styles might seem to cover a lot of terrain, the transition from one to the other never felt forced or unnatural. It was the kind of move that could only have been pulled off by a band like Altan, one with a refined finesse and strong musical lineage, and they pulled it off with aplomb.

Much of the band's set felt less like a concert than a celebration, one where the hearts and energy of everyone in attendance carried the performance, with the band leading the way. While Altan lacks a drummer, the in sync, metronomic stomping of feet more than compensated and could be felt beneath one's seat. It's here where traditional Irish music reels in its power, through the sense of community and connectedness it instills in its fans. It's a quality, says Mhaonaigh, that gives the music a universal appeal.

"The music speaks of a place. It's all very rural, so it has that sort of peacefulness to it. There's something very atmospheric and imaginative to it, and there's just this great freedom of space. I think that's what draws so many people to Irish music, the fact that if you close your eyes and listen you can really envision it. It's really great that the music is sought all over."

The band focused much of their performance around "Local Ground," their latest record released on the local label Narada. Their tenth studio effort, the record, as the title aptly suggests, is a retreat back to the sounds that influenced the band during their earliest days back in Donegal. Mhaonaigh says it's a fitting album that really represents what the band is today, as well as what they've stood for over the years.

"We're all very pleased with it ("Local Ground"). We've put so much work into it, and to have it completed and gaining such a great response is amazing. Everything about it just feels right. Even the art work I think makes sense. It's very rustic and beautiful, and there's this path that runs straight through it all. That path has always been there for us as a band. It's unmistakable and we've always trusted where it's led, and over the years we've come to find it's been the right road to follow for where we've wanted to go."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 21 2005.