Martin Hayes (left) and Dennis Cahill will perform Nov. 19 at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL.

The Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center will take on an Irish festival atmosphere Nov. 19 with an evening immersed in the music, food and culture of the Emerald Isle. A concert by Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill will headline the event, which is part of the International Studies Performing Arts Series at UMSL.

Martin Hayes is an extraordinary talented Irish musician. His unique sound and mastery of the violin combine to create an astonishing and formidable artistic intelligence. Dennis Cahill is a master guitarist. Cahill’s spare, essential accompaniment to Martin Hayes’ fiddle is acknowledged as a major breakthrough for guitar in the Irish tradition.

The evening will begin in the Touhill lobby with samples of traditional Irish food and Guinness, Smithwicks and Harp beers from Llywelyn’s Pub. Then St. Louis Irish Arts will open the show. The group showcases the local Irish performing arts community with traditional and dynamic dance.

Samples are included with ticket purchase. Tickets range from $22 to $37. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m. The Touhill is on UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121).

Hayes and Cahill met in Chicago in the 1980s were they began a jazz/rock band. The band split and after many years, the two began new musical relationship with the lyrical music of East Clare, Ireland. They played long, multi-tune sets in their concerts, starting from the simplest of melodies, building in intensity, but never abandoning musicality and ideas.

The concert is sponsored by International Studies and Programs at UMSL, the E. Desmond Lee Global Ethnic Collaborative at UMSL, Smurfit-Stone Endowed Professorship in Irish Studies at UMSL and The Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis.

Visit touhill.org for tickets or more information.