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About Irish Music Forever
Recent Album: Words That Remain
Led by Seamus Egan, this Irish folk supergroup has invigorated the Irish traditional music scene by incorporating non-traditional instruments. The group's members make use of instruments like guitar, banjo and bouzouki to add a modern spice
to their sound, which is heavily rooted in Irish reels, jigs and other folk song forms.
Egan was born in Philadelphia but moved to Ireland with his parents at age three. He began taking lessons on tin whistle when he was little more than a toddler, and later returned to the U.S. with his family when he was 14. He recorded his first album, Traditional Music of
Ireland, for Shanachie Records at age 16. As a teen prodigy, he toured with Peter, Paul and Mary and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, and also recorded with Vernon Reid of Living Colour, playing uilleann pipes.
Solas consists of Egan on flute, tin whistle and banjo, fiddle player Winifred Horan, concertina/accordion player John Williams, guitarist John Doyle and vocalist Karan Casey. Most of the group's members come from New York, and as a trio, Egan, Horan and Doyle discovered they
enjoyed playing with the Chicago-based Williams. The group didn't become Solas -- the Celtic word for "light" -- until they added vocalist Karan Casey. Multi-instrumentalist Egan has won All-Ireland championships on several instruments, including flute, tin whistle, mandolin, and
banjo, while the other members of the group (except for guitarist Doyle) have training in Irish music and dance going back to their grammar school years. The band made their debut as a group at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and their second performance was at the
Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. Solas had no aspirations to tour and record as a band, but within a matter of months playing in Manhattan's Irish bars, they had a record deal. A short while later, in 1996, they found themselves on a cross-country tour,
where they performed on National Public Radio programs like Mountain Stage and Prairie Home Companion. Solas has recorded several albums for the New Jersey-based Shanachie label, among them Solas, their 1996 debut, and Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers, 1997. Words That Remain
followed in 1998.
Egan has recorded several albums under his own name, including Traditional Music of Ireland, (1986), A Week In January (1990), and When Juniper Sleeps (1996), all for Shanachie Records. Casey's album Songlines (1997) was released on the same label. John Williams' self-titled
debut was released in 1995 on Green Linnet Records. Winifred Horan can be heard on several albums by Cherish the Ladies, including The Back Door (1992) and Out and About (1993).
The group won a National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD) "Indie" award in 1997 for their self-titled debut album. ~ Richard Skelly, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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Recent Album: Sea Of Dreams
BORN: 1959
A founding member of progressive Celtic folk-rock band, Moving Hearts, Davy Spillane helped bring the music of the Emerald Isle up to modern standards. Since the band's breakup in 1986, Spillane has continued to forge a new musical direction
while firmly grasping the traditions of the past.
Spillane launched his musical career while still in his early teens. Learning to play the tin whistle, as a youngster, Spillane switched to the Uillean pipes at the age of thirteen or fourteen and began frequenting weekly seisuns (Irish music jam sessions) at local pubs. Spillane
had a lead role as a piper in a gypsy band in the 1974 film, Traveller.
Moving to County Clare, Spillane became absorbed by the Doolin music scene. Approached by Donal Lunny and Christy Moore to join their experimental folk-rock band, Moving Hearts, Spillane accepted
the invitation. Although Moving Hearts experienced numerous personnel changes, Spillane remained at the heart of the band's sound for the five years of its existence.
Shortly after Moving Hearts disbanded, Spillane recorded his debut solo album, Atlantic Bridge. Joined by American musicians including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Albert Lee, Spillane used the album to focus on the connections between Celtic music and bluegrass. Spillane has
subsequently recorded two additional solo albums -- Shadow Hunter and Pipedreams -- and one album, Out of the Air, with the Davy Spillane Band. In 1991, Spillane collaborated with ex-Bothy Band guitarist and vocalist Andy Irvine to record the stunning, tradition-rooted, album, East Wind. Spillane's first release on a major record label, Place Among the Stars, released in 1998, featured guest vocals by Marie Brennan of
Clannad and Steve Winwood.
A much-demanded session player, Spillane has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Kate Bush, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris. In 1998, Spillane toured with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. Spillane also opened his own recording facility, Burrenstone Studios, in
Dublin. ~ Craig Harris, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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Recent Album: Donegal Rain
BORN: 1952
The musical traditions of Ireland and Scotland have been extended through the singing and tenor banjo playing of Andy B. Stewart. A former member of Silly Wizard, Stewart has continued his musical exploration through several solo albums and
recordings with such influential Celtic players as Manus Lunny, Gerry O'Beirne and ex-Silly Wizard band-mates Phil Cunningham and Martin Hadden. In addition to interpreting the traditional ballads of Ireland and Scotland and the poetry
of Robert Burns, Stewart has composed such original songs as "The Blackbird", "The Queen Of Argylle", "Golden, Golden" and "The Ramblin' Rover".
Stewart first attracted attention as a member of Puddock's Well, a band that he formed with fellow students at Blairgowie High School, Martin Hadden, Dougie MacLean and Kenny Hadden. A tradition-rooted group, Puddock's Well performed throughout the Scottish Highlands and became
the house band at a Blairgowie folk club. Their most important performance came as opening act for Scottish folk band, Silly Wizard. Although they balanced day jobs and performances following their high school graduation, the demands on their time proved difficult and the group
disbanded. Shortly afterwards, Stewart and Hadden were invited to join Silly Wizard. They remained with the band for twelve years, recording eight albums and touring throughout the world.
During a break from Silly Wizard in 1985, Stewart planned to tour with the band's keyboard and accordion player Phil Cunningham. When an auto accident prevented Cunningham's participation, Stewart enlisted ex-Bothy Band and Moving Hearts guitar and bouzouki player Manus Lunny. The tour proved so successful that Stewart and Lunny continued to work together for six years. In addition to two duo albums, Stewart and Lunny
worked together on Stewart's solo album, "At It Again", in 1990, and a trio album, with Cunningham, "Fire In The Glen", in 1985.
As Lunny became more involved with a Scottish band, Capercaille, in the early 1990s, Stewart began to work with Irish guitarist and record producer, Gerry O'Beirne. Stewart has supplemented his musical career as a freelance technician for
television and film companies in Scotland. ~ Craig Harris, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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