MITZIE COLLINS IRISH CLASSIC Honors Ted McGraw

For 20 years, Sampler Records staged sold-out shows featuring some of the finest Irish music and dance Rochester has ever seen. Following up on last year's landmark concert resurrecting these beloved concerts, the 2nd annual MITZIE COLLINS IRISH CLASSIC this year recognizes a figure whose impact is just as worldwide as our honoree from last year and the concert's namesake, folk music matriarch Mitzie Collins.

Ted McGraw was not only a force in our own community as a musician, an organizer, and a broadcaster, but he was recognized worldwide as one of the most important preservers of the oldest and rarest Irish music recordings. Our debt to him is immense, but this concert in his memory we hope can serve as a fitting memorial to this giant of Irish music.