DOWAGIAC — Those hoping to get in touch with their Irish roots before St. Patrick’s Day will have a chance this weekend, thanks to the Beckwith Theatre.

South Bend-based Irish folk band Kennedy’s Kitchen will play the Beckwith Theatre, 100 New York Ave., Dowagiac, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10. Tickets are $20 and include beverages and appetizers.

Kennedy’s Kitchen is a band that plays everything from Irish folk music to pub songs to singalongs, according to its website. Band leader John Kennedy said that the music the band plays derives from traditional Irish music that was typically played in small intimate locations, such as a kitchen, hence the band’s name.

“This is family friendly music, in that it comes out of a very long tradition,” Kennedy said. “Back in the day, you might have had 30 people dancing around a guy with a fiddle. Today, you might play a festival with thousands, which is why you need modern equipment. This is just kind of a modern form of the traditional music.

Started in 1998, Kennedy’s Kitchen will be turning 20 this year. As Kennedy is a former teacher, much of the band was built from the recruitment of his former students, leading to a band that is diversified in age.

Despite the age of the band members ranging from high school students to those with graying hair, all members of the band said that there is something in the Irish band’s music to be enjoyed by all.

“This is all ages music, and I really enjoy it,” said Theresa Kubiak, 19.

Rob Weber, the band’s oldest member, chimed in with agreement.

“Any ethnic music, that’s what it does,” Weber said. “It brings people together.”

Saturday’s performance will mark the 10th time that Kennedy’s Kitchen has performed at the Beckwith Theatre, selling out nearly every year.

Kennedy said that the band keeps coming back due to the welcome the band always receives from the Dowagiac theater and that the smaller space of the theater is reminiscent of the traditional intimate areas where the band’s style of music was originally played.

“It’s a beautiful, intimate, little space, and they keep asking us to come back,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s Kitchen band members said they would encourage anyone who was interested to come to the performance Saturday.

“It will be a fun time and the Beckwith is in a central location, so it’s not too far for most people,” Kennedy said. “You will have a good time. That’s almost guaranteed.”