Solas is the quintessential Irish-American band recording and touring in the US today. Fifteen years ago, in a manner befitting their name (Gaelic for "light”), Solas burst onto the Irish music scene and instantly became a beacon – an incandescent ensemble that found contemporary relevance in timeless traditions without ever stooping to clichés. Anchored by founding members Seamus Egan (flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistles, guitars, bodhran) and Winifred Horan (violins, vocals), Solas is rounded out by Mick McAuley (accordians, low whistle, concertina, vocals), Eamon McElholm (guitars, keyboards, vocals), and newest member and lead singer, Niamh Varian-Barry. Through fresh and unexpected arrangements of age-old tunes, compelling and topical originals and covers, and unparalleled musicianship, Solas continues to define the path for the Celtic music world and drive the genre forward.
With ten albums under their belt, Solas' band leader Seamus Egan was inspired by his family history to create Shamrock City – their most ambitious project to date. Shamrock City tells the story of Butte, MT, a mining town at the turn of the 20th century, as seen through the eyes of an Irish immigrant and Seamus' great-great uncle, Michael Conway. In 1910 he sailed from Cobh, Co. Cork in Ireland to Philadelphia and then made his way to Butte to work in the copper mines. Six years later, at the young age of 25, he was dead from a blow to the head. With audio recorded in Philadelphia and film footage in Butte, Shamrock City seeks to not only uncover the life and young death of Conway, but to also illuminate life as an immigrant during the Industrial Revolution. With an EP of five songs available at gigs, as well as visuals and stories incorporated into the live show, fans will get a taste of the full album, to be released in early 2013.
It's no secret that Solas is often drawn to musical social commentary - "Pastures of Plenty" and "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" are core to their repertoire, and they've covered political songs by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Josh Ritter. The themes in and around Shamrock City, particularly the stories and lives of immigrants, are reflected prominently in the headlines of 2012. With the Shamrock City project and current tour, Solas seeks to reach beyond the music by creating opportunities for fans to share their family histories at tour stops and online. In the process, the project aims to create a more meaningful and open dialogue about many of the issues we face in today's America. For anyone who associates Irish music solely with pubs, green beer and March, be prepared to have your mind firmly changed.
Raves and Reviews - Solas
Irish band 'Solas' making album and DVD in Butte |
The Mining City gave the band Solas more than just memories of applause and hospitality when it first played here six years ago. Butte also gave them inspiration. The renowned Celtic quintet is working on an album and DVD that features Butte as the canvas for its latest musical venture. Solas founder Seamus Egan told The Montana Standard in a phone interview from Scotland this concept album has been in the works for some time. “It’s something that’s been in our minds for the past few years,” Egan said. The band plans to call the album and film “Shamrock City,” which is one of Butte’s monikers for its strong Irish roots. Solas first came to Butte in 2005 when it played at the An Ri Ra Irish Festival. Egan said the concept comes from a story that’s been in his family for years about a distant relative, Michael Conway. He came to America from Ireland about 1910 and eventually moved to the Mining City. The story goes Conway was murdered in Butte at age 25 in 1916. COLORFUL HISTORY Egan would stop in Butte whenever the band was on tour in the area and research Conway’s story in the Butte Archives. “It turned out he was beaten to death by a group of policemen,” Egan said. In his research, Egan said he also learned much about Butte’s colorful history. He found the history of Butte relevant to issues this country still faces with immigration, unions and workers’ rights. “You could change the dates and some of the names and (Butte’s history) is no different from today,” he said. Egan said he plans to scout locations and film parts of the city for the DVD this month. The entire band will be in Butte by mid-October to film themselves playing in various spots around the city. “We’re in the process right now of writing, recording and doing research for the project,” Egan said. Solas is celebrating its 15th anniversary as a band and is widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential Celtic bands working today. SELF-PRODUCTION The band, whose members live in Philadelphia and Ireland, is self-producing the “Shamrock City” project through Kickstarter. Egan said this is the first time the band has self-produced an album in this fashion. Through the Kickstarter, the band is asking its fans to donate money to help fund the production of the album. Their goal is to reach $25,000 by Oct. 10. As of Friday, the Solas has received nearly $3,500 in pledges from 64 backers. Butte resident and An Ri Ra organizer Brendan McDonough is helping the band coordinate the project. McDonough said it’s a great honor for the city to have a world-class talent like Solas do a record about Butte. “This is a great cultural event and a huge story for Butte,” he said.
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| John Grant Emeigh |
Solas brings contemporary Irish beat to Celtic Classic |
It's the time of year when Pennsylvania meets the Celts, as the Celtic Classic begins in Bethlehem. There is also a meeting of Pennsylvania and the Irish in the band Solas, which performs Saturday in the only ticketed (and sold out) concert of the fest. Founding member Seamus Egan was born in Hatboro, but his family moved back to Ireland soon after. They returned to Philadelphia when he was 10. Today two of the band members still live in Ireland, and three live in the States. Egan does not think that is a problem. "We tour so much, it doesn't matter where each person lives," he says. In the last few years the band has traveled to Canada, France, Spain and Italy, and next year plans to visit Japan. "Audiences are not wildly different around the world," Egan says.
Some might resist paying for a band at Celtic Classic when so many can be heard for free. Egan laughs when he is asked why people should come to see Solas over other groups at Celtic Classic. "If they have seen the other bands, they can come and try something different." This venue is much different than a tent stage. "A festival is a unique thing with its own atmosphere," says Egan. "It is not for quiet, introspective pieces." Celtic groups range from strictly traditional to those that are electrified and mix in other genres of music. Some are a cross between Celtic and rock. Egan says Solas "leans toward contemporary" on the scale, often performing modern songs. It does not limit itself to Irish music. "We will have a go at other songs if we can do them justice," he says. The band's latest CD, 2010's "The Turning Tide," includes a song by Bruce Springsteen, "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Yet Solas is not rock-oriented and does not use electric guitar. It also does not use bagpipes or drums much, making do with stringed instruments and accordion. About half of itssongs are lively and rhythmic instrumentals, while the others feature the ethereal vocals of Niamh Varian-Barry. If there are vocals, they have a narrative. "Folk music tells about what happened, a story about an event or person," says Egan. The band also will do an occasional political song, but rarely evokes controversy. "We will get the occasional odd reaction, but the audience is generally very supportive. It is part of what we do; I don't think about it that much." Egan says there is no shortage of traditional works to perform, at least not yet. "We are always on the hunt for new songs," he says. "Our antennae are always up. You never know when one will cross your path." Solas' name comes from an Irish word meaning "light." Since it formed in 1996, the group has had many personnel changes. The only original members are Egan and violinist Winifred Horan, who was a member of Cherish the Ladies before she joined Solas. Egan says this has led to an "evolution in the sound. Each new person brings in his or her own personality. They are not a clone of the person who has left." All the current and former Solas musicians reunited for the 2006 CD and DVD "Reunion: A Decade of Solas." Solas has released nine CDs. The band has a new project called "Shamrock City," which will combine a CD, DVD and film. It is raising funds on the website Kickstarter. It tells the story of Butte, Mont., a copper mining town at the turn of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an Irish immigrant, Michael Conway, the great uncle of Egan's father. In 1910 he sailed to Philadelphia from Ireland. Six years later he died after working in the Butte copper mines.
Egan explains his enthusiasm for the project. "It was part of my family history. It is a remarkable history that resonates with us. It has a connection with events that concern us now — immigration, workers' rights, politics and corporations." Egan was on his way to visit Butte the day after we spoke. Kickstarter is a website that asks viewers to fund various projects. "It gives us the opportunity to fund something ambitious," says Egan. "We don't have the financial support of a record label. We are now acting as our own label." Like many bands, Solas has gone independent since the downturn of the record industry.
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| Dave Howell |
Band Bases CD off Mining City |
The Irish-American band Solas is making a new album called Shamrock City.The lead singer Seamus Egan was inspired by Butte when researching family history and became inspired by the town’s history and Irish heritage.The goal of the album and the video is to tell the story through the eyes of someone that lived in the time the mining city was booming.The entire band will be back in Butte in October to start filming the official music videos for the album.The CD will be done by early next year and the band will kick off their tour in January in Scotland.Solas will be coming back to Montana and performing all around the state in March of next year.The band has been together for 15 years and has made 10 albums. This will be their first album produced without being under a record company. |
| Alxy Sacks, NBC Montana |
Irish eyes will be smiling at Solas concert this St. Patrick's Day weekend |
Irish eyes will be shining brightly this St. Patrick's Day weekend when the critically acclaimed Celtic music quintet Solas takes the stage of the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts in Fairfield. Concert time is 8 p.m. Saturday, March 19, for this internationally touring band best known for its highly original and lively sound that merges contemporary acoustic with traditional Irish folk. |
| Mike Horyczun, The Hour |
Group turns tide toward Celtic vibe at The Rialto |
A little bit of Ireland is making its way to Northern Colorado. Internationally renowned Celtic band Solas will perform Sunday at the Rialto Theater.
Solas' sound is a mixture of traditional styles and new influences, but, band member Seamus Egan said, it's still undeniably Celtic.
"Irish music is a strong enough music that it can absorb those outside influences and still retain what gives its background and structure," said Egan, who plays flute, banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, guitar and bodhran with the group.
Solas' members are all multitalented musicians, bringing a diverse wealth of instruments into the mix."We're lucky in that we've got a range of instruments available to us," Egan said. "Everybody's background is in traditional music ... but we also aren't shy about introducing other elements into the music."
This tour is mostly focused on music from Solas' latest album, "The Turning Tide," but will include some older songs as well.
Egan said the band is looking forward to performing in Colorado (they've performed here multiple times since the group formed). "The audiences are fantastic in Colorado," he said. "It's a beautiful place to be."
Portland singer/songwriter Casey Neill, a friend of the band, will open the Loveland show with his group, Casey Neill and the Norway Rats.
Since Solas started about 15 years ago, the band has been through several lineup changes. Egan and violinist Winifred Horan are the only remaining members of the original group. The newer members include Mick McAuley, Eamon McElholm and lead vocalist Niamh Varian-Barry.
Egan said this particular U.S. tour - which comes in the middle of working on a new CD set to be recorded this summer - is going well.
"So far so good, in that we've been playing new places, and people have been coming to the shows," Egan said. "I just hope that continues."
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| Danielle Porter-Loveland Connection |
Solas' folk album rich in Irish culture |
In a culture where top-10 songs on the radio typically consist of computer-generated beats and melodies, Solas offers a refreshing twist to the monotony, with an array of instruments that create a rich folk sound.
With just weeks until St. Patrick’s Day, Irish folk band Solas has released its new album, The Turning Tide, after 14 years as a band. The group follows its 2008 album For Love and Laughter with the new release.
The band uses nine different instruments and a female vocalist on its albums, providing the audience with a traditional Irish sound. But Solas puts a modern twist on their music, producing an album that could easily transcend the playlists of more contemporary listeners.
Many tracks on both For Love and Laughter and The Turning Tide emulate the traditional Irish genre that Solas promotes, but there are clear hints toward other more mainstream genres, like country and jazz.
“Hugo’s Big Reel,” the opening track on The Turning Tide, starts the album with an instrumental piece that effectively demonstrates Solas’ diverse use of instruments through a more traditional piece of Irish folk music. Other tracks, such as “The Crows of Killimer/Box Reel #2/Boys of Malin/The Reel House,” also portray the genre strongly.
The Turning Tide continues with “Girl in the War,” a beautiful ballad that emulates Solas’ contemporary fusions and sounds similar to some popular country songs.
Mairead Phelan, the band’s vocalist, asserts her presence without overpowering the rest of the band and she acts as a vital component to Solas’ Irish-folk genre because of her soft voice that complements the instruments.
Multiple songs on the album do not contain vocals, helping to accentuate the talent the musicians have with their respective instruments. Seamus Egan, Winifred Horan, Mick McAuley and Eamon McElholm contribute to the various layers in the music, displaying the dynamic aspects Solas embodies.
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| Anna Weldon-The Pitt News |
Solas rides the tide to Loveland |
World-renowned Celtic band Solas will be returning to the Rialto Theater the afternoon of Sunday, March 6, in celebration of their new album, “The Turning Tide.” As a testament to the excitement and popularity of their high-energy stage presence, they sold out their last show in 2007 at that venue. According to band member Seamus Egan, “The name Solas is an Irish Gaelic word meaning light, as in sunlight or daylight.”
Originally formed in New York 15 years ago but now based in Philadelphia, the five-member band is made up of a group of Irish lads and lasses with a wide variety of musical instruction.
“Growing up in Ireland, a music teacher would come to the town hall once a week at Foxford, County Mayo, where I lived. That was about it for me for musical education, but Winnie and some of the others have had quite a bit of formal training and studied extensively,” said Egan. “We have varying degrees of musical teaching.”
After putting out 10 albums and touring the world, the band’s time-tested songs “cover the range of newer stuff and things that go back,” said Egan. “We have quite a bit of material we can pull from. We perform a combination of traditional and contemporary tunes and are always on the lookout for nontraditional songs. We like songs that tell a story or that are political or social in nature.”
Among conventional jigs and reels, they scatter Americana folk songs ranging from Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Plenty” to Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad.”
After so many years of being on the road, Egan says that it hasn’t been hard at all to keep the music fresh for both themselves and the audience.
“We are fortunate to be able to do what we love. I don’t find myself ever getting bored. I attribute that to being curious — always wanting to learn more, exploring different avenues, not getting complacent and looking beyond the next horizon,” said Egan.
Solas is made up of three gents and two ladies. Egan spent his childhood in Ireland but has lived in America ever since. He plays classic Irish instruments such as the tin whistle and bodhran, among several others. Winifred Horan wows audience with her vocals and violin prowess. Mick McAuley, Eamon McElhom and Mairead Phelan, all natives of Ireland, play a combination of accordion, concertina, low whistle, guitar, keyboard and vocals to the group.
Egan mentioned that it will be great to see Loveland audiences again and invites residents to come out for a great afternoon show. “We offer people the opportunity to come out and forget about their day-to-day travails. Everybody deserves that respite. Hopefully, our enthusiasm and joy for what we do will transport you to a better place.
Our music is something that we take seriously. It’s a big deal, and we are very appreciative of the audience. Once we’re on stage, we feed off their energy. That’s what makes it all worthwhile,” said Egan.
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| Lynette Chilcoat-Loveland Reporter Herald |
Irish folksters Solas light up the Freight |
There’s something about Irish music - it never gets old. Perhaps the driver of this eternal youth is the persistent stream of renewable energy that gets behind it, personified in groups like Solas, who graced the stage of the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley on Friday night.
A sense of knowing anticipation emanated from the packed audience at the pristine venue in downtown Berkeley, and was met with aplomb by the Philadelphia-based band’s opening reel ‘Jigs 08’. Immediately you sense the tightly woven artistry that pervades these four highly talented multi-instrumentalists – Seamus Egan, Winnifred Horan, Mick McAuley and Eamon McElholm – they have crafted a synergistic sound that overcomes the idiomatic vagaries of tempo and meter so common to Irish folk music, and move as a single unit. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Freight’s fantastic Meyer sound system generally does a great job of both separating out the instruments and blending it all together seamlessly. There were a couple of hiccups on the mix front in terms of the balance (the woodwinds were a little low), but in general the sound was all present and correct.
A few tunes in, we are introduced to the band’s (relatively) new singer, Niamh Varian-Barry. Inevitable comparisons with the previous incarnation, Mairéad Phelan (who has left the band to pursue a career in medicine) are likely to be made, and certainly anyone who has heard the sylph-like tones of Phelan knows that this girl has a tough act to live up to, but Varian-Barry held her own for the most part, (despite a few questionable reverb choices by the band's engineer) and it is clear that a few more years with this stellar band will develop the latent power that is verifiably present in her voice.
Quite apart from the phenomenal music, what strikes you over the head about Solas is their sense of showmanship and engagement with the audience. Maybe it's because this is the Freight, one of their professed favorite gigging venues, but from the often hilarious banter between the entire band (Egan’s earnest defence of the virtues of the banjo in the face of denigration by the rest of the band was nothing short of priceless) to the frequent check-ins to make sure we are having a grand time, the impression we get from this band is one of genuine connection with its listeners. Indeed, towards of the show there was full-on clapping, even dancing in the aisles, rounded off by not one, but two standing ovations. It must be difficult in a large venue like the freight to make an audience feel like they’re being treated to an after dinner show in their own living room, but Solas’ performance, infectious enthusiasm and geniality render this description very close to the mark. Great stuff, to be sure.
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| Richard Warp-Berkeley Music Examiner |
Pluck of the Irish: Celtic folk band Solas endures changes, still going strong |
FAIRBANKS - Solas is one of the most prolific, long-lasting names in the Celtic music scene.
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| Suzanna Caldwell-Fairbanks News Miner |
Solas satisfies all your Celtic needs |
Some concerts are meant to be relaxing, encouraging you to sit back in your chair, and listen to the calming music wash over from the laid-back artist quietly strumming on stage.
That would not be an accurate description of the Solas concert at the Aladdin Theater on February 11th. Around thirty seconds after this group walked on the stage, they provided every reason to believe they could bring a St. Patrick’s Day crowd to an absolute frenzy.
This is music that can’t be played sitting down. If you’re going to do Celtic music right, your feet have to be in motion right along with your fingers. I’ve heard that you can’t play Latin music unless you know how to dance salsa, and apparently, you need to be able to dance a jig before you play fiddle in an Irish band. Watch this video, and pay special attention to Winifred, the fiddler. It’s difficult to tell if more energy is going to her feet or her fingers.
This clip doesn’t really do justice to the actual performance. Watching the interplay between the band members and feeling them emote the music was astonishing and impressive. Once again, live performances beat out recordings–you just can’t appreciate the recorded music the same way as actually watching it being created. It was almost anti-climatic when a pair of Irish dancers came out on stage. They were good, no doubt. But there was enough energy coming off the musicians to eclipse the dancers energy and showmanship. It’s probably obvious I enjoyed the concert. You may have the impression that Celtic music is nothing more than high-energy dance music, especially if your only exposure to the genre is Riverdance and the ilk. Not true for Solas. As mentioned in the preview, this American-born group has broken out of the traditional setlist and added songs by Jessie Colin Young, Sting, and others. In addition, they write originals, some of them in odd time signatures (a waltz in 5/4) as well as ballads that might sound like traditionals but have current roots. If a performance is nothing other than one high-energy song after another, the audience soon exhausts themselves, falling into a confused slumber. Plus, there’s pathos in the Irish tradition. So you need a sad song once in a while. Here’s Winifred Horan performing her original “My Dream of You.” During the concert, it was mentioned that the website will soon host several new songs not found on any album. No indication of when this might happen, but Solas fans should check the home page on a regular basis over the next few weeks. |
| Mark Niemann-Ross, Oregon Music News |
Solas quintet plays Petersburg |
The Irish-American quintet Solas performs traditional and contemporary Celtic music in Petersburg this weekend. The Petersburg arts council is bringing the critically-acclaimed acoustic musicians to town for a concert in the Wright auditorium Saturday night at seven. Matt Lichtenstein had the opportunity to chat with violinist and vocalist Winifred Horan, one of the groups founding members. |
| Matt Lichtenstein |
Solas reeled in for jigs and choice covers |
Fifteen years after Solas' eponymous debut album, a spin through the band's 10-disc catalogue reveals that the adjectives most frequently used to describe them (Irish-American, Celtic, traditional) are somehow both accurate and inadequate. It depends on the album; it depends on the track.
For those new to the group, it helps to know that, with Solas, Irish-American refers less to a style or sound than to the band's very makeup. Séamus Egan and Winifred Horan, Solas' co-founders and the only original members, are American-born musicians with strong ties to Ireland who have spent the last decade and a half making music with Irish-born musicians with strong ties to America. For Egan, a multi-instrumentalist who started on tin whistle, and Horan, a fiddler, such ties, it seems, are what bind their mutual appreciations for Irish folk music — for masterfully arranged jigs and reels that will set your feet to tapping. That much is accurate.
But while traditional music, no matter the genre, comes with its purists and preservationists, Egan, Horan and the quintet known as Solas are making inventive music in the moment — now. They do cover traditional instrumentals but also record their own, of which some suggest an affinity for soundscapes drawn with electronic instruments as much as those created by acoustic ones.
Speaking of covers, on Solas' newest album, "The Turning Tide," you will find adaptations of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad," Americana singer-songwriter Josh Ritter's "Girl in the War" and British musician Richard Thompson's "The Poor Ditching Boy." Ritter draws comparisons to a young Bob Dylan, whom Solas has covered in the past (the rarely heard "Dignity"),along with folkie Pete Seeger and German singer-songwriter Antje Duvekot.
Again: It depends on the album; it depends on the track.
"We're musicians first," Horan said on the phone from her home in Philadelphia, "and we're excited and turned on by other kinds of music."
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| Dickson Mercer |
Top concerts of 2010 |
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| Jim Vorel |
On Mountain Stage: NPR |
Seamus Egan and Winifred Horan founded Solas in 1996, and the band continues to tour and record its brand of traditional and contemporary Irish-American music. Here, Solas makes its fifth appearance on Mountain Stage since 2000, performing songs from The Turning Tide.
The band puts as much enthusiasm and musicianship behind "The Ditching Boy," a Richard Thompson composition, and "Girl in the War," written by Josh Ritter, as it does with traditional numbers such as "Bird in the Tree."
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| NPR |
Irish Echo-Tough Times Require Tough-Minded Art |
From Waterford, Solas's founding lead vocalist Karan Casey persuasively expressed edgy anger about social injustice and political oppression in such songs as the traditional "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty," and Peggy Seeger's "Song of Choice." |
| Earle Hitchner |
Solas: America's Wild Irish Rose |
A very brief period of warm temperatures had disappeared, and snow was falling again when the van pulled up. It seemed odd that America's premier Irish band, Solas, would be touring heavily during the snowiest February on record. They probably planned the tour in late summer. Nevertheless, they jumped out of the van eager to play.
When we unloaded all the instruments and equipment in the studio, Winifred Horan and Mick McAuley were stretching and wiping their eyes of sleep. I forgot that for musicians, 2 p.m. is late morning. But when they started to warm up, they started to wake up, and suddenly they were in top form. When you're as good as this group is, playing well becomes a habit; a little coffee and they were ready to fly.
Eamon McElholm, McCauley, and Horan play with such volume that they struggled to hear Seamus Egan, who was playing a nylon-string guitar. So producer Joe Gunderman put him in the middle, and the party began.
They played one instrumental off their new album, The Turning Tide, and two songs featuring Mairead Phelan's vocals.
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| Jim Blum |
Solas Are On Their Way! |
Solas are one of the most ground-breaking, significant bands in Irish traditional music. They are touring to promote their brand new album The Turning Tide, and the energy of these players at the top of their game should not be missed (check out dates on http://www.solasmusic.com).
The new album blends their musical sizzle with a new spirit of social inquiry. "Something is definitely afoot," says founding member Seamus Egan (guitary, banjo, flute, whistles, bodhran), about the title of the album and its inspiration. "The tide is turning, but we don't know if it's for the betterment yet. We don't know where we're going."
What the band saw on the road, touring during the last presidential election in the U.S., playing while the economy crashed, shaped the album, which includes covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen and Richard Thompson, as well as the exciting sets they do so well. "We wanted to try and do songs that touched on some of the social issues going around today," says Egan.
Even the harmonies evoke sixties folk rock, as well as the harmonies of such classic Irish groups the Bothy Band, with backup harmonies for the first time from Mick McAuley (button accordion, guitar), and Eamon McElholm (guitar, piano). "We are connecting the dots back to the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash," said Egan. Fiddler Winnie Horan agreed. "I grew up listening to the Eagles and the Allman Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel."
The Turning Tide is the second album with young Irish vocalist County Kilkenny vocalist Mairead Phelan, and her energy has also invigorated the band, Horan said. In fact, she wrote a gypsy-flavored waltz for the singer, who always makes her laugh on the road. Phelan's soft voice, blended with Egan's pure whistles, give American singer/songwriter Josh Ritter's quiet outcry "A Girl in the War," written about the Iraq war, an Irish lilt. "The Ghost of Tom Joad," inspired by Steinbeck's classic novel and film, is the first time Solas has ever done a Springsteen song, and the combination of American roots with Irish arrangements create an unforgettable anthem. Not only did Springsteen's lyrics about disenfranchisement and injustice speak to Egan, he had to admit "we are big Boss fans."
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| Gwen Orel |
Solas |
Although Solas straddles the Atlantic in terms of personnel and sometimes temperament, its roots are unquestionably Celtic. In fact, Solas often is cited as one of the world's leading Irish bands, despite being based on American soil. The quintet's seemingly casual virtuosity and fervid spirit flourish both on traditional material and the contemporary fare that regularly enters its repertoire these days, albeit with such exquisite doses of the auld stuff that lineages are unmistakable. There are only two traditional tunes on Solas's The Turning Tide (Compass), out this week, but the band members' originals and the four magnificent covers all sparkle with ancient tendrils coaxed from Winifred Horan's fiddle or Seamus Egan's whistles or Mick McAuley's accordion. A swirling air or reel easily drifts in a contemporary direction with jazzy phrasing or the introduction of a drum kit to add kick. Ultimately the album's underlying theme of troubled times comes from the covers, which settle naturally among the stirring instrumentals: Richard Thompson's "The Ditching Boy," Josh Ritter's "A Girl in the War," Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and Scottish songwriter Karine Polwart's "Sorry." Amidst the bristling instruments, it's relative newcomer Mairead Phelan's haunting voice that adds the telling flourishes—poignancy, desperation, outrage. All ages. |
| Rick Mason |
Irish-American band Solas |
A decade ago, Irish folk music was largely categorized into the light pop style of the Dubliners or the delicate, traditional sound of the Chieftains. Since then groups have been adding some extra punch, often bringing something Irish folk never had: bass. One of the pioneers in the new sound is Solas led by two Americans- Seamus Egan and Winifred Horan. |
| Jim Blum |
Review: "The Turning Tide" by Solas |
Solas keeps reinventing itself and yet somehow manages the trick of always staying the same: reliably, predictably brilliant.
This kind of success is all the more remarkable considering the number of personnel changes since the band burst upon the scene in 1994. Only multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan and fiddler Winifred Horan are original members of the band. Over the years, though, the rest of the lineup has changed: three guitarists, two button accordion players and three singers. That's not to suggest tumult is the inevitable result. On the contrary, every new musician has brought fresh perspectives to the party, and so the band and its sound have evolved. You can hear subtle changes in each of the nine albums Solas released between 1996 and 2008.
Now, along comes album No. 10, "The Turning Tide," the second featuring singer Mairead Phelan. All of the essential elements you've come to expect from Solas are there. Start with mind-blowing, high-energy arrangements from Seamus Egan ("Hugo's Big Reel") and guitarist Éamon McElholm ("The Crows of Killimer"/Box Reel #2"/"Boys of Malin"/"The Opera House"). When the band performs at the World Cafe this St. Patrick's Day, you can predict that those will inspire enthusiastic "whoops." The band has been cranking out bread and butter numbers like that from day one. Add in a clever confection from Winifred Horan—"A Waltz for Mairead," which reminds me a bit of "The Highlands of Holland" from the 2003 album, "Another Day." Now tack on the happily tangled rhythms of box player Mick McCauley's "Trip to Kareol" (which reminds me vaguely of "Who's in the What Now" from "Edge of Silence").
It could all seem formulaic, but if it is, it's a formula for sure-fire success. At its core, regardless of who is playing the guitar or accordion—and Solas attracts the best—the band remains consistently excellent. And even if some of the selections seem familiar, Solas infuses fresh new energy and excitement into them.
Into this dependable mix steps Mairead Phelan, who joined Solas in 2008, replacing Deirdre Scanlan (who replaced Karan Casey). Phelan made her debut on the last CD, "For Love and Laughter." Her first outing provided a tantalyzing clue as to what was to come. On "The Turning Tide," she really comes into her own, and adds her own special imprint on the band.
It helps that she has great material to work with. I'd love to know the process Solas follows for picking tunes. On "The Turning Tide," as always, the band has discriminating taste—for example, "A Sailor's Life," the old English folk song popularized by Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention; Bruce Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad"; and "Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter, whose writing invites comparisons to Springsteen and to the young Dylan.
But great tune selection can only take you so far. The singer has to be up to the task.
Mairead Phelan is there.
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| Jeff Meade |
Solas, at The Ark on Thursday, pushes boundaries of Celtic music |
Evidently, the acclaimed Irish-music group Solas had Richard Thompson on the brain when they were planning their upcoming disc, “The Turning Tide.” For starters, one of the album’s tracks is “The Ditching Boy” — their cover of a song that was written and recorded by Thompson — the heralded songwriter and British folk-rock guitar hero — way back in the early 1970s. (Although, Solas has changed the title somewhat; Thompson’s original was titled “The Poor Ditching Boy.”) And another track is “A Sailor’s Life” — a traditional tune most notably recorded by Fairport Convention in its early glory years, when Thompson was still in the band. (And, not to make too fine a point of it, but Thompson also recorded a song in the late ‘80s titled “Turning of the Tide.”) “Yeah, I had been listening to Richard’s music a lot during the period when we were preparing to make the album,” says group leader Seamus Egan. “We’ve all liked ‘Ditching Boy’ for a long time. It really does sound like a traditional tune, which is what Richard is great at — writing songs that sound like they’ve been around for a couple hundred years.
“So, those songs just seemed to fit in with what we do,” says Egan during a phone interview from a tour stop in England.
Which raises the question that is sometimes asked by Celtic music fans: that is, whether or not Solas — who come to The Ark for a concert on Thursday, January 14 — are in fact a “traditional” Celt-music band. And the answer, to borrow from Bob Dylan, is: Some of the time, but not all the time.
The group’s instrumentation is certainly that of a trad-Celt outfit — flute, fiddle, banjo, Irish whistle, accordion, concertina, bodhran. (Egan alone is scarily proficient on more than a half-dozen instruments.) And on every album, Solas delivers a handful of lively traditional or trad-inspired jigs and reels, usually fueled by Winifred Horan’s flying, fiery fiddle.
But Solas often likes to push the boundaries of what most Celt-music fans would consider to be “traditional.” The band incorporates modern folk-pop, the American singer-songwriter tradition, and, on occasion, New Age ambience or bluegrass-style solos.
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| Kevin Ransom |
Solas - The Turning Tide |
For over a decade, Solas has not only redefined the concept of "Celtic folk", they've risen to the ranks of the finest purveyors of the genre -- a feat even more remarkable considering that the band hails from the U.S. A large part of the group's enormous appeal -- aside from their jawdropping technical prowess -- is their ability to meld traditional instruments and styles to songs outside of the usual Irish music standards. New album The Turning Tide, arriving February 16 via Compass, expands upon what the L.A.Times calls "a compellingly original, strikingly contemporary view of traditional Celtic sounds" with a collection of songs rich in both musicality and acute social commentary. |
Live review: Solas @ the L2 Arts and Culuture Center |
Sometimes a music reviewer aims to critique a band — to compare live output to studio output; to talk of concert aesthetics; to tell a reader whether a familiar act has truly “got it” live or is simply reproducing the recordings, or is ragged and overinflated by publicists and studio pyrotechnicians.
Sometimes it’s silly to pretend to be a critic, and you simply aim to convey the band with the respect it deserves.
The latter is the case regarding the Irish-American quintet Solas, as it showed a full house in Denver Friday at the L2 Arts and Culture Center how a band at the top of its game can build on exceptional albums, and create a performance far greater than the sum of its parts.
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| Jeremy Simon and Brian Carney |
RIFFS: Solas at its best Veteran band plays traditional Irish-American music with a twist |
RIFFS: Solas at its best |
| Andrew Leahey |
New York Times - Modern Infusions to Celtic and Country |
Traditions were happily stretched when Solas and the Wayfaring Strangers shared a double bill at the Bottom Line on Sunday night. Solas, led by Seamus Egan (who played guitar, flute, whistle and banjo), is an Irish-American and Irish band that applies Celtic-style virtuosity to material well outside typical jigs and reels. The Wayfaring Strangers, led by Matt Glaser on fiddle, apply jazz rhythms and harmonies to country and gospel songs. Mr. Glaser promised to play beautiful old songs and “add too many chords to them.” For Solas, one good tune always spawned another, either interlaced or attached. The group is grounded in the fast-fingered jigs and reels of Irish tradition, and it played them with unbridled vitality. As Eamon McElholm strummed brisk, shifting rhythm-guitar chords, Winifred Horan on fiddle, Mick McAuley on button accordion and Mr. Egan on his instruments tag-teamed through the melodies, letting each instrument rise into the foreground - a burst of flute trills, a sliding fiddle phrase - and sharing untraditional passages like precise stop-time interludes. Solas is determined to broaden its repertory, and while its most recent album, “The Edge of Silence” (Shanachie), has some overly glossy production, onstage the modern touches never overshadowed a Celtic spirit. As Deirdre Scanlan sang American songs - Bob Dylan’s “Dignity,” the Youngbloods’ “Darkness, Darkness,” Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Plenty” - with the gravity of old ballads, the group sent quick countermelodies dancing between the lines. Solas also played its own compositions, like Mr. McAuley’s “Beck Street,” which had the vigorous twists and turns of a reel, but used an odd meter that would trip up a traditional dancer. The group has not given up its Irish humor. Introducing songs like “Legless,” Mr. Egan joked, “There’s a rumor that drink was involved.” The Wayfaring Strangers’ hybrids were more improbable, but just as gratifying. The group reached into the trove of old bluegrass and gospel tunes about despair, loneliness, sin and redemption, respecting the songs while pushing them to places their composers never planned. “Columbus Stockade Blues” began with the dizzying counterpoint of banjo picking from Tony Trischka and soprano-saxophone arpeggios from Bill Evans; “When the Golden Leaves Begin to Fall” turned a bluegrass waltz into a modal jazz ballad; and Mr. Glaser started an old fiddle tune, “Cluck Old Hen,” with a quotation from John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” Aoife O’Donovan, Tracy Bonham and Ruth Ungar sang high bluegrass harmonies, took solo verses and added three more fiddles on “Cluck Old Hen.” Laszlo Gardony’s piano solos looked toward Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock, while John McGann’s guitar and octave mandolin leaned toward the Appalachian side. Bluegrass and jazz have disparate vocabularies, but they share moods of introspection and flamboyance that the Wayfaring Strangers ingeniously pulled together. |
| John Pareles |
Wall Street Journal - Solas: America's Own Irish-Music Band |
Forming a patchwork of parkas, slickers, and umbrellas, the capacity crowd sat and stood in a pelting chill rain to catch one of the most exciting Irish traditional bands to emerge in many years, Solas, who were performing in an open-air theater on the spacious grounds of Wolf Trap Farm Park. This brilliant acoustic quintet was the headlining act at the 20th annual Washington, D.C., Irish Folk Festival sponsored by the private, not-for-profit National Council for the Traditional Arts, the nation’s oldest organization for presenting folk and ethnic culture. The concert by Solas (Gaelic for “light”) was so rousing that the audience cheered and clapped for more in the merciless downpour at the end. This surprised no one, however, for in the year and a half they’ve been together, Solas has electrified crowds everywhere they’ve performed. Combining great virtuosity and versatility, they already seem poised to join the elite of Irish traditional bands active today, including the Chieftains and Altan. But unlike those groups, Solas originates not in Ireland but in the United States and features three Irish Americans: button accordion-concertina player John Williams, fiddler Winifred Horan, and multi-instrumentalist Séamus Egan. The other two members, vocalist Karan Casey* and guitarist John Doyle, are both Irish transplants to New York City. Recently released by Shanachie Records, the self-titled debut album by this homegrown group fully confirms the promise of their stage performances. Their imaginatively arranged medleys of Irish dance tunes are tight, polished, and propulsive, while the singing of lead vocalist Karan Casey, blessed with a two-and-a-half-octave range, is as clear and beautiful as the famous hand-cut crystal from her home county of Waterford. Even without the media entrée of this stunning first recording, Solas has already appeared on two very popular Public Radio International programs, “Mountain Stage” and Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” They will also be sharing the evening concert stage with Grammy-winning bluegrass sensation Alison Krauss and the 1994 National Heritage Fellowship-winning gospel group the Five Blind Boys of Alabama at the fourth annual American Roots Fourth of July Celebration that will be broadcast live at night over National Public Radio from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Remarkably, all these bookings for Solas came strictly from strong word of mouth. “I’ve waited a long time for a band like this to come along,” said John Williams, a five-time All-Ireland champion living near Chicago, to which his father had emigrated 39 years ago from the tiny fishing village of Doolin, West Clare. In 1989, John became the only American ever to win the coveted All-Ireland senior concertina title. “All of us, I think, were looking for a way to express what we’ve learned in the Irish tradition and put our own collective stamp on it. John Doyle’s guitar, for example, gives us a big bottom end without veering into a rock-and-roll idiom. It’s something we can build on, and I often play rhythm on the accordion to flesh out what he does.” From Dublin, Doyle came to New York City at the beginning of the decade, playing first in Chanting House, an Irish duo that for a time expanded into a quartet featuring Séamus Egan. Since then, Doyle and Egan have often performed and recorded together, including on Egan’s latest Shanachie solo release, “When Juniper Sleeps.” Doyle’s hard-driving style of guitar picking in Solas is counterbalanced by a more lyrical side of his talent, evident in the acoustic-guitar “effects” he so nimbly plucks and sustains to accompany slow airs and many of Casey’s traditional songs. Irish traditional singing was not always the primary pursuit of Karan Casey, who in the late 1980s began as a music major at University College Dublin and also studied classical piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. “At the end of my first year at UCD,” she recalled, “there was a concert at which I sang a jazz song. I was told afterward by the head of the music department that that wasn’t music. It was one of the reasons I left the music department: they were too narrow-minded.” The strong-willed Casey still loves jazz, especially the scat singing of the late Ella Fitzgerald, and formally studied it after she had emigrated to New York in May 1993. “I used to sing jazz at a friend’s house on Friday nights,” she said, “but then I started to go to traditional sessions [informal jams of Irish music] around the city because I was really lonely. That’s how I got back into traditional singing again. I think jazz musicians have the same kind of history as Irish traditional musicians in a way–this incredible skill that too often is overlooked or dismissed by the public.” Winifred Horan has performance skills just as impressive as Casey’s. One of the most accomplished Irish stepdancers New York City has ever produced, with nine North American titles to her credit, Horan took early lessons in Irish fiddling and won an All-Ireland junior championship at age 11. Then she switched to classical music. For 15 years she devoted herself to it, winning scholarships to the Mannes College of Music in Manhattan and later the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. There she performed with a number of string quartets and orchestras, including the Boston Pops. But Horan returned to her first love, Irish traditional music and dance, not long after she returned to New York in 1990. Initially she was asked to stepdance with Cherish the Ladies, an ensemble featuring many of the best Irish American women performers today, and later she played fiddle with them. After four years in Cherish the Ladies, Horan left to form Solas, and she now also plays with the band headed by button accordionist Sharon Shannon out of Ireland. “When I got back into Irish traditional music,” explained Horan, “I was completely amazed at how big the repertoire is, even bigger than in classical music. I feel I’ve missed 15 years of sessions, but by the same token I wouldn’t turn back time and change the way I learned or the approach I took. Classical music has given me the training, the tools, the discipline, while Irish music has rekindled the sheer love of playing again. I want to bring all of that to Solas.” What Séamus Egan brings to Solas is no fewer than eight instruments: flute, tin whistle, low whistle, nylon-string guitar, four-string banjo, mandolin, bodhrán (a hand-held frame drum), and uilleann pipes. Also in demand for movie soundtracks–his playing can be heard in both “The Brothers McMullen” and the Academy Award-winning “Dead Man Walking _–Egan alone offers a versatility that ensures Solas’s sound will be varied, spirited, and refreshingly risk-taking. “He’s an unbelievably quick learner with impeccable instincts,” affirms Limerick-born musician and ethnomusicologist Mick Moloney, his mentor, friend, and frequent playing partner. “I think it took hundreds of years of Irish music in America to produce somebody like Séamus Egan.” The same might now be said of Solas. Made in America, it’s an Irish traditional band bearing all the marks of greatness. |
| Earle Hitchner |
Solas: For Love and Laughter |
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| Dave Soyars |
For Love and Laughter - Compass |
Solas has seen more than its share of turnover since it first convened in 1994, but each new lineup has maintained the mix of vitality and internal synergy that makes the group among the most formidable stateside makers of Irish music. The Philadelphia five-piece transitions seamlessly to its third vocalist on the melodically jubilant "For Love and Laughter" and casts its net a bit wider than usual to incorporate sounds from realms it typically does not frequent. |
| Thomas Kintner |
SOLAS For Love and Laughter - Compass Records |
Sometimes we're so preoccupied with trad musicians overstepping boundaries that we miss their leap into the blue yonder. Solas's Irish-American roots are the very things that seem to free them from the perils of navel-gazing. First, there's an urbane cosmopolitanism in the multi-instrumentalism of Seamus Egan. Then there are the compositional contributions from four of the five band members. Solas relish that primal flux of influences from zydeco to klezmer, jazz and bluegrass that bathed the likes of Michael Coleman and James Morrison before them. Amid a raft of busy arrangements and collaboration with The Duhks, newcomer vocalist Mairead Phelan excels on Mollaí Na gCuach Ní Chuilleanáin , and Winifred Horan's sublime My Dream of You lingers long after the final note has sounded. |
| Siobhan Long |
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Date |
Venue |
Location |
| 02/05/2012 | Mountain Stage-Culture Center Theater | Charleston, WV |
| 02/09/2012 | Clover School District Auditorium | Clover, SC |
| 02/10/2012 | Diana Wortham Theater at Pack Place | Asheville, NC |
| 02/11/2012 | Community Church Concerts | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 02/14/2012 | The Ark | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 02/16/2012 | Thrasher Opera House | Green Lake, WI |
| 02/17/2012 | Old Town School of Folk Music | Chicago, IL |
| 02/18/2012 | Celtic Music Concert Series | Des Moines, IA |
| 02/19/2012 | The Cedar Cultural Center | Minneapolis, MN |
| 02/21/2012 | Lakeland College | Sheboygan, WI |
| 02/23/2012 | Tupelo Music Hall-NH | Londonderry, NH |
| 02/24/2012 | Iron Horse Music Hall - Northampton | Northampton, MA |
| 02/25/2012 | Somerville Theater | Somerville, MA |
| 02/26/2012 | North Madison Congregational Church | Madison, CT |
| 03/02/2012 | Bass Concert Hall | Austin, TX |
| 03/03/2012 | The Triple Door | Seattle, WA |
| 03/04/2012 | Aladdin Theater | Portland, OR |
| 03/06/2012 | Alberta Bair Theater | Billings, MT |
| 03/07/2012 | University of Montana | Missoula, MT |
| 03/08/2012 | Myrna Loy Center for Performing Arts | Helena, MT |
| 03/09/2012 | Alberta Bair Theater | Billings, MT |
| 03/10/2012 | The Ellen Theatre | Bozeman, MT |
| 03/11/2012 | Front Street Station | Butte, MT |
| 03/14/2012 | Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall | Durango, CO |
| 03/16/2012 | Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse | Berkeley, CA |
| 03/17/2012 | Carpenter Performing Arts Center | Long Beach, CA |
| 03/18/2012 | Napa Valley Opera House | Napa, CA |
| 03/22/2012 - 03/23/2012 | Peery's Egyptian Theater | Ogden, UT |
| 03/24/2012 | L2 Arts and Culture Center | Denver, CO |
| 04/28/2012 | String Break Festival | Brooksville, FL |
| 05/05/2012 | Bok Tower Gardens | Lake Wales, FL |
| 06/09/2012 | Bunsho-kan | , |
| 06/11/2012 | Shinsaibashi Club Quattro | Osaka, |
| 06/12/2012 | Nagoya Club Quattro | Nagoya, |
| 06/14/2012 | Shibuya Club Quattro | Tokyo, |
| 07/19/2012 | Mendocino Music Festival | Mendocino, CA |
| 07/21/2012 | RiverSong Festival | Hutchinson, MN |
| 07/27/2012 - 07/28/2012 | Great American Irish Festival | Frankfort, NY |
| 08/10/2012 - 08/11/2012 | An Ri Ra Montana Irish Festival | Butte, MT |
| 03/17/2013 | Flynn Center | Burlington, VT |
