The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals. The band were regulars on the folk scenes in both Dublin and London in the early 1960s, and were signed to the Major Minor label in 1965 after backing from Dominic Behan who was paid by Major-Minor to work with the Dubliners and help them to build a better act fit for larger concert hall venues. The Dubliners worked with Behan regularly between 1965 and 1966; Behan wrote numerous songs for this act including the song McAlpine's Fusiliers created specifically to showcase Ronnie Drew's gravel voice. They went on to receive extensive airplay on Radio Caroline which was part-owned by Phil Solomon CEO of Major Minor, and eventually appeared on Top of the Pops in 1967 with hits "Seven Drunken Nights" and "The Black Velvet Band". Often performing political songs considered controversial at the time, they drew criticism from some folk purists and Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ had placed an unofficial ban on their music from 1967 to 1971. During this time the band's popularity began to spread across mainland Europe and they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. The group's success remained steady right through the 1970s and a number of collaborations with The Pogues in 1987 saw them enter the UK Singles Chart on another two occasions.
Battlefield Band is a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band.
The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover". They are best known for their international television series, contributing to the popularization of Irish Music in North America, and for the songs "The Unicorn", "Drunken Sailor", "Wasn't That a Party", "The Orange and the Green", "Whiskey on a Sunday", "Lily the Pink", "Finnegan's Wake" and "The Black Velvet Band".
The Bothy Band are an Irish traditional band, originally active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a significant influence on the Irish traditional music movement that continued well after they disbanded in 1979.
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones, and Bob Thomas. In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins and performed under various band names in Edinburgh folk clubs. In the spring of 1972, Watkins returned to Birmingham and, in June 1972, Chris Pritchard (vocals) came in as his replacement. In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O' Doon, Scotland, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name "Silly Wizard" was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited Johnny Cunningham (1957–2003) and Silly Wizard started to take off.
Folkémon is a studio album by the British folk metal band Skyclad. It is the last album the band recorded with Martin Walkyier as vocalist. As is normal with the band's works under Walkyier, the album's lyrical themes deal with politics, environmentalism, spirituality and personal issues.
Wolfstone are a Scottish musical group founded in 1989, who play Celtic rock. Their repertoire consists of both original songs and traditional folk pieces. They have released seven studio albums, the latest, Terra Firma, in 2007. The band record on their own label, Once Bitten Records. The group are named after the "Wolfstone", a Pictish stone originally sited at Ardross, Easter Ross, close to where the band initially recorded.
The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting, and in doing so helped to change the sound of Scottish traditional music. In 2011 the band were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
The Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival takes place in June in Middlewich, Cheshire, England. The festival builds on the town's industrial heritage in which canal boats were used to move coal and other raw materials in the town for the production of salt, and then move the salt out of town, either for use directly, or as a raw material in the manufacture of chemicals such as chlorine and soda ash.
Old Blind Dogs is a Scottish musical group which plays traditional Scottish folk music and Celtic music, with influences from rock, reggae, jazz, blues, and Middle Eastern music rhythms.
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovative work with Skara Brae, the first group to record vocal harmonization in Irish language songs, and The Bothy Band, one of the most influential groups in Irish traditional music. His reputation was enhanced by a successful collaboration with master fiddler Kevin Burke, and his work with the Celtic groups Relativity and Nightnoise, which achieved significant commercial and critical acclaim.
Alive Alive-O is a double album by the Irish Folk Group The Dubliners which was recorded live throughout several Evenings in December 1996 in Germany at the end of their European tour. After the departure of Ronnie Drew, The Dubliners were joined by the famous Irish singer Paddy Reilly who lends his voice to several ballads on the album. John Sheahan's daughter Ceoladh guests with her father, duetting on fiddle with him on his composition, "Among Friends". The album is notable for some mixed German-English song introductions by Sean Cannon, causing widespread laughter among the audience.
Live from the Gaiety is a live album by The Dubliners. It was recorded during the Irish leg of their tour celebrating forty years on the road. The double album was recorded at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in June 2002. All surviving members took part. A companion double DVD of the concert in its entirety was also released.
Another Country is a 1992 album by The Chieftains. It is a collaboration between the Irish band and many top country music musicians including Ricky Skaggs, Don Williams, Colin James, Emmylou Harris, members from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Sam Bush. The album won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and was nominated in three other categories: Best Pop Instrumental Performance, Best Country Vocal Collaboration, and Best Country Instrumental Performance. The Chieftains also took home the Award for Best Traditional Folk Album that year for their 1992 live album, An Irish Evening. There was also an Another Country documentary with video footage of the performances.
Scruj MacDuhk was a Juno-nominated Canadian folk music group based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band included singer-songwriter Ruth Moody, current member of the Wailin' Jennys, and also Clawhammer banjo player/vocalist Leonard Podolak, who went on to form The Duhks.
Crubeen, formerly The Longkesh Ramblers, was a 1970s Irish folk band from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.
The Barleycorn was an Irish traditional music and rebel music band.
TheDublin City Ramblers is an Irish folk band, originally formed by the name of The Quare Fellas in 1970. The band has had a long line of members and Sean McGuinness is the only current member of the original line-up, that also included Patsy Watchorn later member of The Dubliners.
Drink Hunters is a Catalan band from Barcelona and surroundings. Their music is a mix of punk rock, hardcore punk, folk music and Celtic music with traditional melodies and musical instruments like tin whistle and fiddle. This musical style is commonly called Celtic punk or folk punk. Their lyrics, sung in English, talk about social criticism, diverse historical events, and drinking and partying.
Usher's Island is an Irish folk band featuring Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle. Their repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs and tunes, as well as songs written by Irvine and Doyle, respectively.
