With their Northern Ireland-style twin fiddling and accordion melodies accented by acoustic guitar and bouzouki, Altan has grown into one of the top traditional bands in Ireland. The inspiration for Altan was sparked when Donegal-born fiddler and vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh met Belfast-born flute player Frankie Kennedy. Ní Mhaonaigh had... [+] Read More

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Andy Irvine has been a major influence on traditional Irish music for more than three decades. A former member of Sweeny's Men and Planxty, the London-born multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has continued to extend the musical traditions of the Emerald Isle as a soloist, a duet partner of Dick Gaughan and Paul Brady, and a founding member of... [+] Read More

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The musical traditions of Scotland are fused with the dynamic drive and electronic instrumentation of contemporary music by Capercaille (pronounced: Kap-ir-kay-lee). While their initial repertoire focused on traditional tunes collected from Christine Primrose, Flora MacNeill and Na h'Oganaich, the group has increasingly incorporated modern... [+] Read More

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Guitar and bouzouki player Dónal Lunny is one of the pioneers of the Irish folk music revival. His first group, he told me, "was a very close imitation of The Clancy Brothers, [who] used to go to sessions every weekend in a pub called Pat Downing's in Prosperous, where there were some traditional musicians. As there was no other accompanist, I... [+] Read More

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Though primarily steeped in the traditions of folk and Celtic music, Scottish singer/songwriter Dick Gaughan enjoyed a lengthy and far-reaching career in a variety of creative pursuits. Born Richard Peter in 1948, he first picked up the guitar at the age of seven, and issued his debut solo LP No More Forever in 1972. Gaughan then signed on with... [+] Read More

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Dougie MacLean is one of Scotland's premier singer-songwriters. A past member of the Tannahill Weavers and Silly Wizard, MacLean has used his songs, including "Caledonia," "The Singing Land" and "Solid Ground," to capture the natural beauty of his hometown on the border between the Highlands and the Valley of Strathmore.

MacLean... [+] Read More

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Kevin Burke is a master of the highly ornamental Sligo style of Irish fiddling. A former member of the Bothy Band, Patrick Street and a duo he shared with Irish guitarist Michael O'Domhnaill, Burke has also performed as a soloist and with his own band, Open House.

A native of London, England, Burke inherited his love of Irish music... [+] Read More

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The younger brother of influential Irish singer/songwriter Christy Moore, Barry Moore had tired of being in his brother's shadow when he decided to relocate to the United States in 1987. Re-christening himself Luka Bloom during the long airplane ride, he took the first steps toward establishing his own reputation. A master interpreter, Bloom has... [+] Read More

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Together for only four years, Moving Hearts had a profound effect on the development of modern Celtic music. One of the first Irish folk bands to use electric instruments, after Horslips, Moving Hearts took a high-energy approach to their tradition-rooted music. Recalling an early appearance by the band, Q magazine wrote, "saw them in Dublin,... [+] Read More

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Not to be confused with the pop singer of the 1950s, Tommy Sands was the prime songwriter with the Sands Family, a group with his five siblings that became one of Ireland's most influential folk groups of the 1960s and '70s. Although the group has limited its touring in the past decade to an annual tour of Germany and Ireland, Sands has... [+] Read More

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