Fleadh Festival/Kíla/Shane McGowan

March used to be the month when there were too damn many Irish acts in town at once. Not anymore. With Guinness’ annual Fleadh Festival hitting New York again on June 26, Irish artists are fairly racing up and down I-95, squeezing in as many shows as they can before their visas expire.

If you see only one of the acts coming to Philly, however, make it Kíla. Comprised of seven multi-instrumental members from varying backgrounds (two of which, Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Lance Hogan, are formerly of Dead Can Dance), Kíla is one of those bands that’s re-defining Irish music by mixing and matching its traditional sounds with other ethnic influences and modern production techniques. The result is a classification-defying sound: some Eastern European fiddle here, a little African-style harmonizing there; Gaelic lyrics over a reggae beat on one track, whistle-heavy Celtic on the next. The result is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

The inimitable — and charmingly unintelligible — former Pogues frontman Shane McGowan headlines an all-Irish lineup at Electric Factory on June 18. Openers include fellow Irishmen The Saw Doctors, local Irish-American rockers Blackthorn and New York’s The Prodigals.

You can catch Elvis Costello two nights in a row this month; he plays the Tower on June 25, and the Fleadh in New York City the following day. Kíla, McGowan and The Saw Doctors also will appear, as well as Hootie & the Blowfish (?), Shawn Mullins and a host of others great and small, at Guinness’ all-day, outdoor Irishpalooza.

Finally, traditional accordion prodigy John Whelan and Blackthorn headline the annual Penn’s Landing Irish Festival on June 26 and 27. (Blackthorn plays both days, Whelan only on June 26.)

—Frank Lewis

Kíla performs Wed., June 23, at Finnigan’s Wake, 547 N. Third St., 215-574-9240. Shane McGowan, Fri., June 18, at Electric Factory, Seventh and Willow Sts., 215-336-2000. Elvis Costello plays Fri., June 25, at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow Sts., Upper Darby, 215-336-2000. The 1999 Guinness Fleadh, Sat., June 26, Randall’s Island, New York City, 212-307-7171. Penn’s Landing Irish Festival, featuring John Whelan and Blackthorn, June 26-27, 215-922-2386.