Author | Lightnews

Lightholder @lightholder.com · 26d

Great crowd, great show at Sláinte Oakland for the October Irish American Writers and Artists, Inc west coast salon with Michael McNevin , Deborah Crooks , and Megan McLaughlin

Seán Lightholder, Megan McLaughlin, Deborah Crooks, and Michael McNevin stand, holding musical instruments and smiling in front of the hearth, its lintel lined with books, beneath a giant portrait of James Joyce at Slaínte Irish Pub in Oakland at the Irish American writers association west coast artist’s salon

Michael McNevin stands at a microphone, holding his guitar and smiling at Slaínte Irish Pub in Oakland at the Irish American writers association west coast artist’s salon

A poignant photo of Deborah Crooks at the microphone, playimg her guitar at Slaínte Irish Pub in Oakland at the Irish American writers association west coast artist’s salon

Seán Lightholder plays the bodhrán while Megan McLaughlin sings and plays the guitar in front of a hearth, its lintel lined with books, framed portraits of famous Irish writers on a brick wall in the background at Slaínte Irish Pub in Oakland at the Irish American writers association west coast artist’s salon

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Sep 17

Thanks for inviting me along for the ride!

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Sep 12

Well, that was fun! Didn’t even have “play the soundtrack of a silent film” on my bucket list! @ameliahogan.bsky.social #essanaysilentfilmmuseum #niles #eugeneoneill #musician #livemusic #silentfilm

Skyler, Lightholder, and Amelia Hogan stand, laughing, in front of the Essanay Silent Film Museum in Niles, CA

Skyler, Lightholder, and Amelia Hogan sit holding their instruments inside the Essanay Silent Film Museum in Niles, CA

Skyler, Lightholder, and Amelia Hogan stand, smiling, in front of the Essanay Silent Film Museum in Niles, CA

2 2

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Sep 11

Good times last night in Oakland at Slaínte‘s Irish American Writers and Artists salon with Robert W. Anderson , Barbara McVeigh, and Lori Cassels. Thanks so much for including us, Lori! #slainteoakland #lightholdermusic #caliceltic #flute #iawa #irishamericanwritersandartists #livemusic

Lightholder, wearing a blue fedora and a shirt with a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night smiles while playing guitar. Behind him is the rustic, cluttered decor of Slaínte Irish pub

Barbara McVeigh, hair down and wearing a diaphanous golden robe over a mauve dress, peers over her reading glasses at a printed script next to a microphone at Slaínte Irish pub

Robert Anderson, wearing glasses and a printed button-up, closes his eyes while singing into a microphone at Slaínte Irish pub

Lori Cassels leans into a microphone, holding a large open binder, from which she’s reading a personal memoir

2

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Sep 7

@kennyschick-b3.bsky.social and Raffy Espiritu at the Pooor House Bistro. Such excellent folks and excellent original tunes. #livemusic #sanjose #music #songwriter

A crowd watches Kenny Schick play in the poor house bistro outdoor patio

Kenny Shick laughs while singing and playing guitar

Bespectacled Raffy Espiritu, wearing a stingy brim fedora with a striped hatband and a blue tie-dye shirt sings into a Shure beta58 microphone

Kenny Schick and Raffy Espiritu play acoustic guitars onstage at the poor house bistro in San Jose

3

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jul 3

www.irishecho.com/2025/7/music...

Musicians lift the 'June Gloom'

The fog had covered Jack London Square where Slainte Oakland is located. Many have the misconception of California as the proverbial ‘Sunshine Stat...

www.irishecho.com

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 25

Mid-session concertina surgery! #irish #trad #session #concertina #oflahertys #traditionalirishmusic

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 16

A little clip from Saturday’s farmer’s market with Jules

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 12

Good times last night at the Irish American Writers and Artists salon at Slaínte in Oakland

The Bay Station band gets ready to play in front of a hearth topped by a row of books under a portrait of James Joyce. On the left Deborah tunes for guitar, in the middle Kwame adjust his amps settings, and on the right Seán sits with his bodhrán.

Eyes closed, Amelia Hogan sings into the microphone

Karl McHugh sings into the microphone and plays his guitar

The various musical artists from the Irish American writer and artist salon stand before the hearth singing together as a group

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 11

@ameliahogan.bsky.social - happy to be seeing you Wednesday!

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 8

Excited to be one of the Irish-American artists at Slaínte Oakland's Artist's Salon this coming Wednesday the 11th. Expect some rare material - I might read some poetry!

#livemusic #lightholder #slainteoakland #irishculture #artistssalon

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 4

Bzzzz

#bees #bachelorbee #halictusharmonius #bumblebee #california #californiabee #flowers #pollenators

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Jun 3

“I too had receiv’d identity by my body,
That I was I knew was of my body, and what I should be I knew I should be of my body.”

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45470/...

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry

On the ferry-boats the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose, And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in m...

www.poetryfoundation.org

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 30

The Irish coffee session at Strawberry Music Festival this year. Yours truly slinging caffeine & shots of Brose! #livemusic #strawberrymusicfestival #strawberrymusicfestival2025 #irishmusic #session #irishcoffee

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 27

At the Friday afternoon Velcro Lounge bluegrass jam at the Strawberry Music Festival

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 26

What a great Strawberry 2025! #strawberryfestival #livemusic

Dawn Ellerbeck, a dark-haired woman, plays the upright bass in the background while Mokai Blue, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, plays guitar in the foreground

The children’s parade at The Strawberry Festival is depicted: a crowd of children and adults carrying giant home-made paper mache strawberries walk across the lawn against a backdrop of tall pine trees

A little dark haired girl with face paint toasts her grandmother, who is holding a fiddle and smiling at the camera

A group of musicians gathers around in a circle playing music late at night in a campsite

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 20

People tend to say this setup looks really cheesy, but the sound from it really slices through, even if you’re playing some old crusty licks

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 20

Great tone in 30 minutes or less, or it’s free!

Pizza box guitar pedal setup: an open pizza box contains three daisy-chained guitar pedals, whose chords have been routed through the sides of the pizza box. It resembles the sort of thing that people do when they’re trying to set up guitar pedal boards. Of course, using a pizza boxes is a…
questionable approach.

1 2

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 14

You kinda make this platform worth it for me. Back when I first heard about “your hate mail will be graded,” but after I had become a dedicated fan, I wondered what episodic John Scalzi commentary would be like… now I know!

Lightholder @lightholder.com · May 5

Good times, good tunes, and one enormous hat at two-day town this weekend

A man in an enormous round-brimmed hat and sunglasses stands in front of a man in a regular baseball cap

Sitting onstage with his bodhrán in the foreground, Seán smiles while Dawn grins from behind with her upright bass

A group of musicians in a restored coach play in a jam circle

Group of musicians in warm clothing gather around a fire to play music. Guitars, an upright bass, and a canon are among the instruments

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Apr 30

It used to be I saw pure integrity in my thinking, but now I know it’s quite often in the thrall of how I feel. Thoughts are more like a hound seeking confirmation bias for emotions than some independent, objective process for making informed decisions.

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Apr 30

Learning how to have ephemeral feelings without treating them like the penultimate climax of my lived experience up to that point is a fucking learning curve.

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Apr 30

There’s a solid friend

1

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Apr 29

Looking forward to cracking those open and getting into them . My fav of the ones I’m learning at the moment is Pokey Lafarge’s “drinking whiskey tonight”

Lightholder @lightholder.com · Apr 29

The Felice Brothers and Daryl Scott songs

1 2