March 17
A ‘Moon’ for St. Patrick’s
For strict observers of holidays — the sort who never open their presents on Christmas Eve — the real celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is on Sunday. Shanahy, which calls itself the longest-running Celtic music ensemble in the Intermountain West, is performing a special show, “Bonny Celtic Moon,” Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Alliance Theatre, in Trolley Square, 602 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $25, are available at eventcreate.com. (Several restaurants and bars in Salt Lake City also have St. Patrick’s Day specials on Sunday; go to sltrib.com for details.)
March 21, 23
The ‘Madness’ hits Utah
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament — known colloquially as “March Madness” — arrives this week to Delta Center, 301 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Four first-round games are planned for Thursday; the four winners will play in the second round on Saturday, with the two winners moving on to the Sweet Sixteen. Which teams will be playing? That will be announced Sunday. The games are sold out.
March 22-23
A percussion concerto
Danny Elfman is known as the frontman of the rock band Oingo Boingo, a composer for movies (“Batman,” “Beetlejuice”) and TV shows (“The Simpsons”), and the singing voice of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, in “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Elfman also writes orchestral music, and the Utah Symphony will perform Elfman’s Percussion Concerto, with guest soloist Colin Currie, the British percussionist for whom Elfman wrote it. The program includes “Tromp Miniature,” a work for solo marimba by Bryce Dessner (from the alt-rock band The National), and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. The program will be performed Friday and Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. both nights, at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are available at UtahSymphony.org.
Follow @SeanPMeans