Boys of the Lough, a world-renowned traditional Celtic band, will perform tonight at the Lebanon Opera House.
With over three decades of experience, Boys of the Lough know Celtic music, and bring the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland to audiences all over the world.
The Boys shun vocalists and electric instruments, which they feel would be inappropriate for the traditional music they play.
Instead, they rely on a range of acoustic instruments played traditionally to capture the true spirit of the music they write and perform. Using the fiddle, flute, piping and vocal traditions of Irish, Scottish and Shetland music, the band seeks to recreate the feeling of Celtic music of the past while creating lively, compelling new music.
Ranging from upbeat dance tunes to evocative slow airs, the Boys of the Lough's music is sometimes musically complex but always accessible to the listener, in part because of their reliance on traditional musicianship.
Touring is something Boys of the Lough do best, having completed 50 tours of the U.S. and others around the world since 1967.
Headed by fiddle-player Aly Bain, the band is a diverse group of musicians all devoted to one thing - quality music in the Celtic tradition.
Bain is one of the most well known Celtic fiddle players. Growing up in Shetland, he studied music in Scotland and formed Boys of the Lough in 1967 with Cathal McConnell, an Irish flute and whistle player. McConnell has been playing flute since age 15 and touring with the band since it's beginning.
Dave Richardson has been playing with the band since the early seventies. He plays the mandolin, cittern, English concertina and accordion. His music reflects the English and Scottish influences of his upbringing. One of Richardson's songs, "Calliope House" is featured in the stage performance of the hit dance production "Lord of the Dance."
Brendan Begley, the band's accordion player, is an accomplished Irish musician. Begley has released two solo albums and has worked with Boys of Lough intermittently for the past ten years.
The youngest and final member of the band is Malcolm Sitt, a guitarist from Scotland. A recent addition, Sitt joined the band in 1997.
The Boys recently released an album, "Midwinter Night's Dream," which The Irish Voice called "one of the most satisfying, well-conceived and executed albums of Celtic music you'll find anywhere."
