Aug 17, 2026 · 54 min · 12 segments
In this episode of Planxty, Julia and Kristo sit down with feis musician and TCRG Katie Grennan and learn about her journey into Irish dance and its music. Katie's passion for her music and dance…
Katie GrennanGuest
Julia TopperHost
Christo SweeneyHost
One of the things I spend a lot of time thinking about is, you know, m- music and dance and identity and, you know, playing in, you know, a concert hall versus a pub versus the Rosen Center in Orlando.
Um, you know, these are all very different, you know, aspects of identity, and I'm curious as to, is there one of those venues where you feel the most like yourself as a musician-
... or as, you know, I mean, I know you're not dancing, you know, uh, competitively obviously anymore, but like is, is, are there any one of those spaces where it brings out to me your more dancer identity and you feel like you fit in? Or I'm just, I'm curious how you feel in each of those different spaces.
I'm so lucky that I get to exist in all those different spaces as a musician.
Um, but I do think that, um, I just feel most like myself when I'm playing Irish music, no matter what they, that might be.
Um, but yeah, it's, you know, it's definitely a different day when you're waking up at 6:30 in the morning, heading down to breakfast, and hooking your fiddle up and you're playing for nine hours-
... um, as opposed to being on tour when you're waking up maybe around that same time, but you're sitting in an airport, and you're sitting on a bus, or you're sitting on a train.
Um, and you don't actually end up getting to play until later that night, 7:00 or 8:00 at night, and it's a, in a more condensed, um, t- timeframe.
Um, I love the fact that at a feis or especially at a major, if you're lucky enough, you get to play with someone who's equally obsessed as you are, um, with this sort of music.
One of the things I spend a lot of time thinking about is, you know, m- music and dance and identity and, you know, playing in, you know, a concert hall versus a pub versus the Rosen Center in Orlando.
Um, you know, these are all very different, you know, aspects of identity, and I'm curious as to, is there one of those venues where you feel the most like yourself as a musician-
... or as, you know, I mean, I know you're not dancing, you know, uh, competitively obviously anymore, but like is, is, are there any one of those spaces where it brings out to me your more dancer identity and you feel like you fit in? Or I'm just, I'm curious how you feel in each of those different spaces.
I'm so lucky that I get to exist in all those different spaces as a musician.
Um, but I do think that, um, I just feel most like myself when I'm playing Irish music, no matter what they, that might be.
Um, but yeah, it's, you know, it's definitely a different day when you're waking up at 6:30 in the morning, heading down to breakfast, and hooking your fiddle up and you're playing for nine hours-
... um, as opposed to being on tour when you're waking up maybe around that same time, but you're sitting in an airport, and you're sitting on a bus, or you're sitting on a train.
Um, and you don't actually end up getting to play until later that night, 7:00 or 8:00 at night, and it's a, in a more condensed, um, t- timeframe.
Um, I love the fact that at a feis or especially at a major, if you're lucky enough, you get to play with someone who's equally obsessed as you are, um, with this sort of music.
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