Lincoln fans have not forgotten Eileen Ivers since her show here a couple of years ago.

Saturday night at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, about 800 fans listened, clapped, stomped, whistled, waved, sang and at times yelled as Ivers and her band made their way through two hours of Irish traditional, blues, bluegrass, rock and several other mudic genres.

Ir it sounds like an omnibus evening, it was. Ivers has managed to break through traditional Celtic music stereotypes, and her band helped her do this Saturday.

While band members James Riley and Ivan Goff are for the most part traditional Irish musicians, Goff crossed the line into jazz and blues on flute a number of times. Guitarist riley plays a mean rock line, too.

No wonder Ivers' playlist included a classic version of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" that broke into jazz lines as the crowd smiled.

It was also clear the musicians loved what was happening in the Lied Center. Patrons were highly responsive to the patter on stage and offered cheers for almost every number.

Pieces ranged from "Welcoming Poor Paddy Home," a dirge about an American emigrant who returned to the Emerald Isle to live, to "The Gravelwalk" with Ivers taking a Jimi Hendrix approach on her trademark luminescent blue fiddle.

Drummer-singer Tommy McDonnell was responsible for getting the crowd to sing along.

The crowd, mesmerized by the ensemble's stage energy, insisted on an encore at show's end, and McDonnell led the house in "Dance All Night" that included singing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" in a panoramic look at the universal music of Ivers and her group.

It was also a big night for three early teen dancers of the Craoi na Tire Irish dance academy. Ivers had asked the school to provide dancers for the Lincoln show.

The three dancers performed their fast steps to perfection in accompanying four Ivers selections.

"We're about to go on a long travel circuit. Can we take you on the road with us?" was Ivers' comment after the group's sizzling drive through an AMerican bluegrass tune, "Paddy on the Turnpike." The crowd continued its frenzied cheers and applause.

As was the case for Friday night's Prague Symphony concert, Eileen Ivers and her band had won the hearts of the crowd, and the energy streams ran the other way, too, as the house embraced Ivers and her troupe.