Services

Gaelic Culture Productions offers passion, experience and creativity to bring professional culture events, creative productions and performances to life. With 20 years of successful experience and a creative mindset to make visions a reality, I aim to empower and inspire teamwork to achieve goals with positive results.

Culture Events

Specialising in creative concepts, event programming, production and consulting with success in turning a vision into a successful event.

  • Festival or Event Producing
  • Consulting
  • Programming and band management

Creative Productions

If it can be envisioned, I can make it happen. From brainstorming to concept plan to production to finalisation, I use an outside the box creative mindset for artistic projects.

  • Storytelling & Music Productions
  • Global Greening Light Installations
  • Fun Promo Films

Performance

Traditional Irish music and storytelling are my passion and I have vast experiences performing  in bands or solo. As a public speaker, I offer interesting experiences to inspire, educate and entertain all ages of audiences.

  • Irish Music Performances (Band/solo)
  • Tales & Tunes: a solo performance storytelling and Sean nós songs
  • School Performances: Tales & Tunes
  • Public speaker (motivational, inspirational and various professional topics)
Paddy Moloney Founder and band leader of The Chieftains

The Irish Festival of Oulu must be the most northerly celebration of Celtic music on the planet and my trip there with The Chieftains in 2015 was memorable not alone for the warmth of the welcome but also for the efficiency and excellence of the entire organisation led by Brent Cassidy.

Tom Sherlock Artist manager and agent

I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Brent Cassidy and his remarkable team of staff and volunteers at the Irish Festival of Oulu for more than 15 years now and I’ve seen the festival blossom and bloom to now be ranked as one of the best of its kind anywhere. The festival in Oulu stands out as a remarkable manifestation of so much that’s good about Irish music and culture.

Pia Alatorvinen Executive Director / Oulu August Festival

Brent is an energetic and positive speaker, who gives you courage to reach for higher goals. Brent knows how to start from scratch, work hard and succeed while having fun at the same time!

Sirpa Lahti CEO, Marjatta & Kaisa Oy

Brent inspires me with his passion and energy to work with the events we have collaborated on. His knowledge about Celtic culture is impressive and he is an easy going person that is really nice to work with!

Mia Kemppaala Founder, Media Relations & Producer, Polar Bear Pitching

Brent approached us with a great idea for collaboration. Working with him was smooth and easy. He delivered what he promised and in a professional manner. As a result, the stunning global greening photo circulated the world in major news outlets! Also, Brent was immediately open for more collaboration. He didn’t turn down our invitation to play Irish music in a hole carved in the frozen Baltic Sea! He and Markus Lampela bravely embraced the icy waters and their performance - probably the world’s first Irish music concert in freezing cold water - didn’t leave anyone cold. That’s what we call dedication for one’s cause!

Samuli Rekilä Music Teacher, Pohjankartano School

Thank you for the performance. It was informative and inspiring. The students were very impressed especially by the singing and performance.

Portfolio

Helsingin Sanomat

"In the last ten years, Cassidy and the volunteering Ireland fans from Oulu have made the city a true mecca of Irish culture that is recognised around the world, especially in Ireland. "

Mari Koppinen, HS 1.10.2015

YLE Finnish National Broadcast

“The Irish Festival of Oulu covers the entire spectrum of the culture field better than any other festival in Finland.”

Mika Kauhanen, YLE 15.10.2015

Helsingin Sanomat, 2013

“Oulu is Finland’s Irish Mecca”

Kaleva Newspaper Critics Choice

“The event’s leader, Brent Cassidy, has diligently succeeded in creating an event in Oulu that has a good reputation among Irish musicians, other festivals and the Oulu audience.”

Best Festival 2009

Ylen Aamu 2.9.2016

“Oulu’s Irish Festival Attracts Thousands of Visitors”

See YLE Aamu -video clip at Yle Areena

Kaleva Greetings, 2015

"Brent Cassidy - You are an exemplary cultural figure in Oulu. With your perseverance, you have created a major Irish festival in Oulu, recognised worldwide, for ten years. You have surpassed unnecessary boundaries. In addition to music, the festival offers literature, theater, cinema and football."

Petri Laukka, Chief Editorial Writer

The Story

What’s an Irish American, Gaelic speaking, sean nós singing, bodhrán playing, story telling, country boy from North Carolina who also speaks Finnish, loves Lexington style pulled pork BBQ, Tarheels basketball, cross-country skiing, surfing, ice swimming and sauna doing in Oulu, Finland?

You guessed it, Irish music and culture.

Originally from Mocksville, North Carolina, I came to Oulu, Finland in 1997 as an exchange student to Oulu University and have resided here for 22 years. In 2006, I founded The Irish Festival of Oulu alongside several friends and fellow musicians as a way to play and experience more Irish music. Yes, it was a wild dream, an Irish culture festival not far from the Arctic Circle, but it has become the premier Irish festival in the Nordics attracting 108.479 people as well as many of the best Irish performers on the planet.

It’s a true honour and adventure being a small part of the global Irish music tradition experiencing many brilliant performances from 6 time Grammy Award winners The Chieftains to Altan, Danú, Dervish to legends like John Doyle, Andy Irvine, Sharon Shannon, Liam O Flynn, Paddy Glackin, Donal Lunny and many others respectively.

As well, I am a traditional Irish musician and storyteller and have many performance highlights including with my own bands The Soap Pig and Droichead to countless early morning sessions. I have had the honour to join legendary uilleann piper Paddy Keenan on stage, played bodhrán with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Brophy to Bill Whelan’s Riverdance: A Symphonic Suite and a fun solo performance at Divulge Dancers’ Film Fest in Hollywood, California.

Simply put, it’s been all about the craic. My passion burns bright for Irish music and culture and sharing this experience with fans, musicians, friends and colleagues from all walks of life is the most rewarding aspect of all. Peace, love and harmony.

Let's Create Together!

Contact me to get started with your event / idea.

 

Brent Cassidy

Business ID: 1652577-6

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