Cillian Vallely & Kevin Crawford

US Touring 2014/2015
Joining Lúnasa in 1997 and 1999 respectively, Kevin Crawford and Cillian Vallely have become key components of a group which has become one of the most acclaimed and influential bands in the recent history of Irish music. Having released seven band albums and worked on numerous solo projects though, the duo decided to combine their individual talents and create something different. The result was the critically acclaimed album, “On Common Ground”, which was awarded The Irish American News album of the year in 2010.

Cillian Vallely is an uilleann pipes and low whistle player from Armagh in the north of Ireland. In recent years, he has played and recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Tim O’Brien, and Riverdance in addition to recording as a guest on over 60 albums. With Lunasa, he has played at The Hollywood Bowl, Glastonbury Festival, Womad Aledaide, Edmonton Folk Festival in addition to multiple tours of Asia, Australia, US and Europe.

“Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today” Irish Voice

Born in Birmingham and living in Ennis, County Clare, Kevin Crawford is an exceptional flute, whistle, and bodhran player and was awarded the title of Irish Echo Musician of the Year in 2000 following the release of his 2 successful solo albums, “In Good Company” and “D Flute”. Before joining Lunasa, Kevin made two albums with the acclaimed instrumental band, Moving Cloud, 1995’s self-titled album followed by “Foxglove” in 1998. Other noteable album credits from this period included Grianan, Raise the Rafters, Joe Derrane, Sean Tyrrell and The Sanctuary Sessions. One of Kevin’s latest side-projects is the formation of a new super-trio, The Teetotallers alongside John Doyle and fiddler Martin Hayes.

“Tasty tunes and terrific playing make “On Common Ground” one of the recording triumphs of this still young year” Irish Echo

“This is an album that features two guys at the top of their game offering up a stunner, slowly aged to perfection after years together. We love it.” Chicago Irish-American News

Cillian & Niall Vallely

Although now renowned for their work with top Irish acts Lunasa, Nomos and Karan Casey, brothers Cillian and Niall Vallely from Armagh City in the north of Ireland learned their music the old-fashioned way – from their parents Brian and Eithne, who founded the Armagh Pipers’ Club, a group that for over three decades has fostered the revival of traditional music in Ireland’s north.

Cillian is the uilleann pipes and low whistle player with the renowned Irish band Lunasa, described as “The hottest Celtic band on the planet” (Irish Voice).  In recent years, he has played and toured with Bruce Sprinsteen, Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Riverdance in addition to recording as a guest on over 60 albums.  With Lunasa, he has played at The Hollywood Bowl, Glastonbury Festival, Womad Aledaide, Edmonton Folk Festival in addition to multiple tours of Asia, Australia, US and Europe.

“Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today”  Irish Voice

Niall Vallely has established himself as one of the most original and distinctive voices in Irish traditional music. A former member of Cork-based band Nomos, he has been acclaimed throughout the world as one of Ireland’s greatest concertina players.  In 1990, while studying for a B.mus degree in University College Cork, Niall formed the group Nomos.  Over the past few years Niall has also been spending a lot of time writing new music. In 2007 he was commissioned by the BBC to compose music for a major TV series on the Flight of the Earls.

“It’s seldom that instruments are reinvented by individual musicians. Larry Adler did it with a harmonica; so did Pierre Bensusan with his acoustic fingerstyle guitar. And now Niall Vallely has done it again with the humble concertina” Irish Times

“Cillian is a member of trad super-group Lúnasa and one of Ireland’s very best uilleann pipers. Older brother Niall, who founded the group Nomos and now tours with singer Karan Casey, is one of the most original and virtuosic concertina players in the history of Irish music”  Irish America Magazine

“Brothers Niall and Cillian Vallely share one of Irish music’s most thoroughbred pedigrees”  Glasgow Sunday Herald

“The brothers Vallely of Armagh, Niall on concertina and Cillian on uillean pipes, are both stunning instrumentalists. They share an ability to make instruments not generally regarded for their subtlety sound equal parts beautiful and intense”  The Irish Herald

Cillian Vallely & Ryan Mcgiver

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This new duet act features a unique collaboration between 2 of the best known names in traditional Irish and American folk music, Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes and low whistle, and Ryan McGiver on guitar and vocals.

Armagh native Cillian Vallely has established his name over the last decade through his playing with award-winning, trad Irish supergroup Lunasa, Influenced by the rhythmic, flowing style of Paddy Keenan and Johnny Doran, Vallely’s mastery of chanter, drones and regulators has earned a reputation as one of the top players in the tradition.  He has performed worldwide on tours as diverse as Riverdance, Natalie Merchant,  Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Tim O Brien, and the “Celtic Jazz Collective” with Miles Davis’ drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Peter Washington.  He has also recorded on over 40 albums including seven with Lunasa, “Callan Bridge” with his brother Niall, “On Common Ground” with Kevin Crawford, and various guest spots with Natalie Merchant, “Excalibur” with Fairport Convention and Moody Blues, “GAIA” with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and Karan Casey.   He recently featured on the new Bruce Springsteen album, “High Hopes”

“Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today”  Irish Voice

From upstate New York, Ryan McGiver is a guitarist and sought-after accompanist on both sides of the Atlantic and is regarded as one of the best of his generation, playing Irish and American traditional music with equal facility. He has toured in America, Europe and Asia, and shared stages with performers like Susan McKeown,  fiddlers Liz and Yvonne Kane and concertina player, Padraig Rynne.  Ryan has recently released his debut album, “Troubled in Mind” a Indie-folk record with imaginative musical interpretations of old Appalachian ballads. Co-produced by Shahzad Ismaily (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Marc Ribot), the collaboration results in a spiritual, often meditative music, with a haunting quality that draws from sources as diverse as Buell Kazee, Washington Phillips and Randy Newman.

“An absorbing and plaintive collection of mainly Appalachian ballads filtered through a myriad musical influences and sensibilities.” Sarah Coxson, fRoots Magazine