Please join us for an evening of music and fellowship in honor of Sherry Ladig, a cherished member of our community. The event will feature performances by special friends sharing their talents. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the program begins at 7:00 pm. Guests are encouraged to bring a dessert to share, and a cash bar will be available. A $15 donation is requested at the door, with proceeds benefiting IAM’s Educational Grant Program.

Irish Arts Minnesota (IAM) Honors is a very special evening – a chance to celebrate the keepers of our traditions and to recognize the very special people who “keep the fires burning.” They help ensure that Irish music and dance continue to thrive in our community. The 2024 IAM Honors recipient, musician and composer Sherry Ladig, is recognized for her contributions to Irish traditional music in the Twin Cities and beyond. Irish Arts Minnesota will celebrate Sherry at a special event on Friday, Nov. 22 at the Celtic Junction Arts Center. The evening will include time for socializing as well as plenty of fine traditional music. Also featured will be performances by some IAM Educational Grant recipients.

Sherry has been writing and making music all her life as a pianist, arranger, composer, and music historian. While she has played a wide range of music, including ragtime piano, she is best known here in the Twin Cities as arranger and pianist of Celtic music and as a composer of traditional-style tunes. Her bands include Dunquin (traditional Irish), Dalwinnie (Scottish), and the New Pearl Buttons (mid-to-late-19th century American). Sherry also plays for dancing with the Twin Cities Ceili Band.

Dunquin has been a mainstay at IAM’s St. Patrick’s Day Irish Celebration for many years, performing “traditional Irish exuberant reels and jigs and heart-melting Irish airs” on piano (Sherry), flutes & whistles (Don Ladig), and fiddle (Rosa Wells) in the Tea Room and expanding our understanding of the music through a series of fascinating seminars. And you will always find Dunquin at Irish Fair.

Sherry and her bands entertain audiences in a wide range of venues, bringing their beautiful music to intimate house concerts, historic homes, parish halls, outdoor settings, and more. Sherry has played a special role in helping to strengthen our Twin Cities traditional music community as a composer of tunes. Sherry has written a wide range of tunes to honor special people in our community, including writing tunes for many a previous IAM Honoree. According to Sherry, “There are no boundaries in music, and cross-fertilization invigorates new music.”

Sherry is also a long-time contributor to the IMDA/IAM newsletter, writing book reviews with an Irish connection for An Leabhragan (The Bookcase) monthly for at least 15 years.