Boys of the Lough,
A Short Bio

With over thirty years experience in the world of traditional music, over 60 North American tours, 20 recordings and two Grammy nominations, Boys of the Lough has reached legendary status. The Celtic supergroup features All-Ireland champion Cathal McConnell on flute, whistles and vocals; Dave Richardson on concertina, mandolin, button accordian and cittern; Brendan Begley on button accordian, melodeon, and vocals; Malcolm Stitt on guitar, bouzouki and Highland pipe; and Young Fiddler of the Year Kevin Henderson on fiddle.

The Boys have established a reputation for technical brilliance and integrity combined with a ready wit and sense of fun. The music ranges widely through traditional melodies of Ireland and encompasses fiddle music of Shetland, Scotland and North America. These range from compelling dance rhythms to evocative slow airs and beautifully-structured songs, some in the Irish language.

Dave Richardson's famed composition “Calliope House,” named in honor of George Balderose’s Pittsburgh home and folk music venue, has sold over a million copies and has been featured in the smash-hits stage production Lord of the Dance and television's Sex in the City.

Listen to Garrison Keillor introduce the Boys at Carnegie Music Hall New York, followed by their performance of the Maho set.

For more on the Boys, visit their site. Boys of the Lough is represented by Ixtlan Artists; a complete presskit, including photos, is available for download.

A Few Press Quotes

“One of the finest bands in Celtic traditional music.”
The New York Times

“The most rythmically bracing of the traditional music bands.”
Time Magazine

“Legends.”
Boston Globe

“Traditional heroes — played a moving set, putting people on their feet and making them dance the night away.”
Irish World

“Music that is full of guts and technical brilliance.”
Irish Times

“And a quartet of young British instrumentalists and singers set the Saturday night crowd howling and dancing in the full fury of an August thunderstorm with Gaelic tunes played on fiddle, guitar, flute and bodhran.”
Rolling Stone

When Boys of the Lough were in Pittsburgh …

Friday, April 11, 1980, Carnegie Music Hall
Saturday, February 26, 1983
Saturday, June 22, 1985, Three Rivers Arts Festival
Sunday, December 10, 1995, Carnegie Lecture Hall
Saturday, December 14, 2002, Carnegie Lecture Hall

Boys of the Lough and Calliope House
A Short History by George Balderose

Boys of the Lough first came to Pittsburgh during April of 1980 at the invitation of Calliope House for a concert at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. I was the chairman of the Calliope board at the time, and had recently become the recipient of a Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust scholarship to pursue the study of bagpiping in Scotland, beginning in September, 1980. Boys of the Lough, living in Edinburgh, while at a Calliope House party after their performance, invited me to visit them when I was in Scotland. While I was living in Aberlemno, Angus, Scotland and studying with Jimmy McIntosh in Brechin, I ended up visiting them often in Edinburgh and learning much about music from Cathal McConnell, Dave Richardson, and Aly Bain. I accompanied Cathal to Northern Ireland and spent some time with him at his family home in Fermanagh, visiting the older musicians who taught Cathal much of his music. Before I returned to the US, we did a pilgrimage together at Lough Derg in Donegal.

The Boys were invited back to Pittsburgh by Calliope House for concerts at Carnegie Lecture Hall on several occasions over the last 20 years. In 1984, they released In the Tradition, which included a tune that Dave composed and entitled “Calliope House.” By that time, Dave had composed a number of other tunes and named them after houses, and this new jig in E-flat major was also so-named. Since then, the tune has been recorded by over ten artists, including Kevin Burke and Patrick Street, Alasdair Fraser, Hamish Moore, Alasdair Gillies, the Waterboys, as well as in commercials during
the US Olympics in Atlanta and during the Riverdance performances. Few of the subsequent recordings played it in E-flat major, most of them play it in the key of D. A great, bouncy tune in whatever key, “Calliope House” has become a session tune in Ireland and Scotland, and can be heard in many public music gatherings in both countries.

Cathal McConnell, one of the founders of Boys of the Lough, has a special relationship to Pittsburgh. He toured nationally several times in the late 90's with Mt. Lebanon Irish musician Richard Hughes, and has performed with Hooley at the Pittsburgh Irish festival, as well as at other impromptu gatherings. Cathal has frequently visited Calliope House over the years, and enjoys a warm friendship with myself, my wife Nancy, and Leslie Clark.

Midwinter Night's Dream,
A Celtic Christmas Concert

One of the best Christmas shows touring today, the critically-acclaimed Midwinter Night’s Dream is steeped in the personal memories of Celtic Christmas traditions by members of the Celtic supergroup Boys of the Lough.

A Celtic Christmas with Boys of the Lough combines beautiful Christian and pagan winter holiday songs and instrumentals from throughout Ireland, Scotland and Northern England with fascinating stories of the history of this great musical tradition. Master storyteller and multi-instrumentalist Dave Richardson weaves sparkling wit and humor with encyclopedic knowledge of British traditions, evoking visions of snow-covered hills, icy gales, fires in the hearth, rosy-cheeked lasses and lads, drams of ale, and circle dances, and adding a bit of fantasy with anecdotes of fairies and trolls. Boys of the Lough founder Cathal McConnell adds a forty-year history of playing this music on stage through song, flute and whistle. Accordion and melodeon player Brendan Begley brings a beautiful tenor voice to the songs of the tradition, singing in Gaelic and English, including a haunting Gaelic version of “Silent Night.” Guitarist Malcolm Stitt hails from the Highlands of Scotland, and Kevin Henderson shares his rich fiddle tradition of the Shetland Islands.

The Boys’ critically-acclaimed album Midwinter Night’s Dream is based upon this concert.

“Midwinter Night’s Dream is one of the most satisfying, well-conceived and executed albums of Celtic music you'll find anywhere.”
Irish Voice

“…listen to Midwinter Night’s Dream and see why I rate the Boys as number one when it comes to Celtic music.”
Irish Edition

“Makes for wonderful listening all year long.”
Rhythm Music Magazine

“Midwinter Night’s Dream is a terrific collection of traditional Irish and Celtic tunes about Christmas, winter and the holiday season. It remains true to the music’s roots while being very accessible to fans of such homogenized Celtic music as Riverdance, making it a very worthwhile Celtic holiday listen.”
All Music Guide

If you would like to participate in the world of the Celtic Christmas tradition, this is a Christmas show that combines family appeal, historical intrigue, brilliant musicianship, and a touch of the different. A Celtic Christmas with Boys of the Lough delivers.

This special concert will be recorded with state-of-the-art video equipment by the Grammy-winning producers of MCG Concert Hall.

Purchase your tickets early to select the seats you want and save over 20% at $22 — $6 off the $28 door price. Limited to 325 reserved seats. Order tickets online or by phone at 412.322.0800.

How you can help promote this concert …

Tell your friends by word of mouth or email. Here is an announcement to paste into your favorite email client (program). Available as HTML or rich (formatted) text or plain text. Plus an optional low-resolution photo.

Post an announcement in your organization’s newsletter or Web site.

Call your favorite world or folk music radio program and ask them to play a Boys of the Lough recording and announce the upcoming concert.

Download, print and put up a poster and/or distribute flyers at your favorite pub, coffee shop, record store, book store, school, Irish/Scottish/Celtic concert or dance, etc. — anywhere you think people would have an interest in this concert. Here is an 8x11 grayscale poster and an 8x11 color poster. And here is a 5x8 grayscale flyer (two per 8x11 sheet). (All are PDF files.)

If you would like to help in other ways, please contact us.

View/download the Boys of the Lough concert program as a PDF file.