Erin Go Fleadh

(CBS) In Ireland's early days, musicians, poets, and artisans would gather to strut their stuff at a medieval "battle of the bands," also called a fleadh, an Irish word which combines competition and festival.

Pronounced "flah," these musical events have their fair share of modern counterparts, and the one offered by Irish brewing giant Guinness is the biggest.

The Guinness Fleadh has been a major event in London since 1990. Last year, the Fleadh hit the United States for the first time.

This modern Fleadh formula mixes headliner acts like Sinead O'Connor and Van Morrison with traditional Irish folk bands as well as noteworthy local acts — not necessarily Irish themselves, but "Irish in spirit," according to the Guiness Fleadh's producers.

"The Guiness Fleadh is a contemporary version of the traditional Irish festival. The bands we sign may not be Irish, but they capture the spirit of Irish music, the pouring out of emotion by the pintload — that sensibility," said Fleadh producer Liam Lynch.

Artists appear and play throughout the day on Fleadh's four performance stages, surrounded by a village of food stands and craft stalls, supplemented by a few thousand kegs of lager and stout to sate the over-21 crowd.

In keeping with the fleadh tradition of musical competition, this year Guiness Fleadh is staging a band search for unsigned local bands. Those selected will enter a multi-stage competition the month prior for the right to appear on one of Guiness Fleadh's venues.

This year, the Guinness Fleadh goes cross-country, with New York, Chicago and San Francisco tour dates. This year, the acts include Irish chanteuse Sinead O'Connor, Chumbawamba, Squeeze, Nanci Griffith, Billy Bragg, the Saw Doctors, Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, L.A. punk band X, and former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan.

For general venue information, visit he Guinness Fleadh Web site.

New York '98

Randall's Island, New York City

Day 1: Saturday, June 13, 1998

Day 2: Sunday, June 14, 1998

Chicago '98

Arlington International Racecourse

Saturday, June 20, 1998

For ticket and general information, call Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212, or visit Ticketmaster's Web site.

Bay Area '98

Spartan Stadium Fields, San Jose

Sunday, June 28, 1998

For ticket and general information, call Bass Tickets. In San Jose, call (408) 998-BASS. In the San Francisco area, dial (510) 762-BASS.

For all days, doors will open at 11 AM. The four performance stages will operate simultaneously from noon until 11 PM.