photo by: Contributed

Ashley Davis and Cormac De Barra will perform at the Lied Center on Dec. 10, 2021.

The Ashley Davis Winter Solstice concert, a longtime Lawrence holiday tradition, will look a little more like its old self this year.

That’s because acclaimed Irish harp-player Cormac De Barra, absent for nearly two years, will be back in the U.S. De Barra, of Dublin, will play in Davis’ 11th annual holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive. De Barra and Davis have collaborated on a winter concert in Lawrence almost every holiday season for more than a decade, but COVID restrictions have interfered with recent collaborations.

“It’s been heartbreaking in so many ways,” De Barra says. “It’s my first time on a stage in the states since the pandemic. The level of excitement to get back to it is immense. I’m excited like a kid in the candy store.”

Last year, in lieu of a winter solstice concert with an audience, Davis debuted her album “When the Stars Went Out” virtually from a stage at the Lied Center.

“I was just playing to blackness — a completely empty theater,” Davis says. “Throughout COVID, I (and other musicians) tried to stay present by doing virtual shows from our homes. So being able to do a show in a beautiful, large theater is really special for me. This will be the first large show I’ve done since COVID.”

Derek Kwan, executive director of the Lied Center, is eager for the tradition’s return.

“We are ecstatic to welcome Ashley back for her annual winter solstice performance with an in-person audience,” Kwan says. “This event has become a beloved tradition for so many in our community.”

Traditionally, the concert is performed on multiple nights in the Lied’s smaller acoustic theater. This year, to better allow for social distancing, Davis and her band will perform in the larger auditorium with general admission seating so that audience members can socially distance at their own comfort level. The 90-minute concert will not have an intermission.

This year, De Barra and Davis will share the stage with guitarist Joseph Carmichael and two-time All-Ireland fiddle champion Jake James. The group will play songs from Davis’ “When the Stars Went Out,” as well as a variety of other Celtic, winter and Christmas songs.

De Barra says the concert provides the kickstart to his own holiday season: “The tone or the feel I get from those songs, you know when you’re covered up with a scarf and gloves, you’re coming in from the snow, and you open the door and there’s a fire going, and the heat from the fire just warms you up? The warmth and the welcome that you get.”

Davis is a Lawrence native with Irish ancestors on her father’s side. She has a master’s degree in traditional Irish music from the University of Limerick in Ireland. She has been able to carve out a successful music career touring, but says COVID has deeply affected musicians both economically and emotionally.

“It’s been an incredibly hard two years for musicians who tour because we were grounded,” Davis says. “All the dates we had scheduled got pushed to the next year, and most promoters just ended up canceling them.”

Davis hopes the winter solstice concert will draw in lots of first-timers.

“I would really love to see a lot of people who have never come to see the show, so it’s a nice warm welcome for all the musicians who are back on the stage and able to play live again,” Davis says. “I hope it will be a really nice homecoming and welcoming and healing. I hope the audience is able to come together and hear a piece of music and feel safe and good and happy.”

For more details about the Dec. 10 show, see the Lied Center’s website, https://lied.ku.edu.