SOLAS

Irish
East Coast, US; Chicago, Illinois; Scotland

Solas is hailed by The Boston Globe as “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced” and The Wall Street Journal as “an Irish traditional band bearing all the marks of greatness.” Since forming in 1995, they have been a galvanizing element in the Irish music scene—widely heralded for their virtuosity and fresh approach to Irish folk music, and for skillfully maintaining their traditional roots while exploring their own ideas and expanding the boundaries. Over the course of 12 critically acclaimed albums and endless international touring, Solas brought their love and respect for the traditions of Irish music to the world. This year, after an eight-year hiatus, founding members Seamus Egan, Winifred Horan, and John Williams are joined by Nuala Kennedy and Alan Murray for Solas’s 30th anniversary tour.

Seamus Egan, a multi-instrumentalist born in Philadelphia, spent much of his childhood living in County Mayo, Ireland, where his musical studies began. Before he was 14, Seamus had already won four All-Ireland competitions, in flute, tin whistle, mandolin, and tenor banjo (he plays low whistle, guitar, bodhrán, and uilleann pipes as well). In 1994, he assembled a group of friends to play the Lowell Folk Festival in Massachusetts; the band that resulted was Solas. A bandleader, composer, and performer, Seamus Egan has helped define the sound of Irish American music today.

Known for her emotional, evocative playing, fiddler Winifred Horan has had a long and celebrated career. She was born and raised in New York City to Irish parents, and her father, a carpenter and musician, was her first teacher on piano, before soon embarking on Irish fiddle and classical violin lessons. As a teen, she won a full scholarship to attend the Mannes College of Music Preparatory School, and later graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. A nine-time champion National Irish step dancer and an All-Ireland fiddle champion, Horan has performed with such bands as Cherish the Ladies and the Sharon Shannon Band.

Chicago native John Williams is to this day the only American-born All-Ireland concertina champion. On childhood summer visits to Ireland, Williams spent many hours learning from his grandfather and other traditional musicians in Doolin, County Clare. He is today noted for his collection and preservation of traditional songs from Clare. In his work as a solo musician, Williams has played with artists as diverse as Mavis Staples and Nickel Creek. A virtuoso on concertina and button accordion, he plays a wide range of traditional instruments with brilliance and sensitivity.

Singer Nuala Kennedy, also an accomplished instrumentalist, is known for her beautiful vocals, as well as her fine flute and whistle playing. Her artistry bridges and combines the musical cultures of Scotland and Ireland. Nuala grew up in Dundalk, Ireland, an area with historical links to Scotland, where she was a member of a local cèilidh band. Later, while studying first in Edinburgh and subsequently in Inverness in the Highlands, Nuala developed an extensive repertoire of Scottish tunes and songs to add to the Irish repertoires she had already mastered. A founding member of the trio Fine Friday, she has released three solo albums.

Guitarist, bouzouki player and singer Alan Murray hails from Glasgow, Scotland, where he grew up playing the whistle and later guitar. Eventually moving to New York City, he has established himself as an in-demand performer and teacher on the Irish music scene. He has played and toured around the world with many of the finest traditional musicians and acts today, including Niall and Cillian Vallely, Eileen Ivers, Colin Farrell, Paul Brock, Battlefield Band, and FourWinds.

Artist social media and website:

solastheband.com
facebook.com/solasmusic
instagram.com/solasmusic
youtube.com/user/solasmusic

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