Curragh Irish Band from Troy, NY

Curragh has spread the joy and energy of traditional Irish music throughout Upstate New York and beyond at concerts, weddings, parties, fundraisers, dances, and pubs for over twenty-five years. Curragh has performed at music venues around New York’s Capital District, including Caffe Lena, Washington Tavern, José Malone’s, Ale House, Hangar on the Hudson, Argus Hotel, Petersburgh Memorial Hall, Altamont Fair, The Depot, Griffin House, Irish 2000 and the Tugboat Roundup. In 2019, Curragh thrilled Boston Irish Music fans with a series of St. Patrick’s Day concert cruises aboard the Northern Lights in Boston Harbor. Curragh is: George Ward (Concertina, Vocals) grew up in a family that preserved its Irish identity through traditional Irish music. George’s nascent love of both song and traditional tunes flourished after a summer fieldwork collecting folklore in Ireland in 1970. His primary instrument is the concertina - English and, later, Anglo – performing in one group or another since 1974. He also enjoys the guitar and accordion and taught Irish pennywhistle for Old Songs Inc. for many years. George was inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eirann Hall of fame, Sean O’Riada Chapter, in 2008. George recorded and released the album ‘The Cow That Ate the Piper’ as a member of the Broken String Band in1984, and three other albums over the years related to the Erie Canal and US Naval history. Eric Everson (Bouzouki) has performed with traditional Irish bands throughout New York State, the New York Metropolitan area, Boston, and Vermont for over 25 years playing both Irish bouzouki and guitar. Eric has played with numerous traditional Irish musicians in the States and abroad and has performed with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood playing traditional Celtic tunes. He has performed at festivals throughout the Capital Region including The Old Songs Festival, Irish Arts Week, The Joe “Banjo” Burke Festival, The Clearwater Festival, The Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Irish 2000 and the Dance Flurry in Saratoga. He taught accompaniment at Old Songs, Inc. for several years. Eric enjoys keeping the tradition of Irish music alive and spreading the joy of traditional Irish music throughout his community and the world. Kara Doyle (Uilleann Pipes and Whistle) first came into contact with traditional Irish music in 1995 when she moved to the Northeast for graduate school. She contracted a severe case of uilleann piping fever in the late nineties and began piping in earnest in 2001. She had her debut solo concert at the Boston Uilleann Pipers’ Club concert series in April 2019. Kara was a recent guest piper with Elvis Costello in his 2023 NYC concert run at the Gramercy Theater. Kara is involved in the Northeast Tionól, the east coast’s largest annual gathering of uilleann pipers, and has served on its board for fifteen years. She also offers private uilleann piping lessons in person or online and has given piping demonstrations and workshops at the Saratoga Dance Flurry, the Lower Hudson Valley Pipers’ Club, the Northeast Tionól, the Southeast Tionól, the West Coast Tionól in San Francisco, and the Southern California Tionól. She taught private tin whistle lessons and beginning tin whistle classes at Old Songs, Inc. in Voorheesville, NY. Peter Jones (Fiddle) is from Troy, New York. He grew up near the Fox Hollow Folk Festival in Petersburgh where he got to hear many great fiddlers of all styles. He started playing the fiddle at the age of 16 and then joined the Buttonwoods String Band in Providence, Rhode Island as a college freshman. The group’s first concert was as warmup band for the sold-out Chieftains show at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence. He remembers being thrilled that Sean Keane asked to play his fiddle at the after-party. Peter then spent a year in Ireland where he got to hear and play with some of Ireland’s greatest traditional musicians. He later helped to form Curragh and played with the Broken String Band. He also loves playing in traditional Irish music sessions throughout upstate New York and Ireland. Max Carmichael (Flute, Tenor Banjo, Bouzouki and Vocals) has been playing music for over 22 years. Initially, Max spent much of his early years absorbed in blues and American folk music. Early mentors in blues include Chuck Lambert and Gary Wright. Curiosity and a love of folk music from around the world took him to India where he studied Hindustani Classical music under Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya for three years. Most recently, Max has immersed himself in the New York Irish scene, playing guitar, banjo, bouzouki, flute, and tin whistle. He was a major figure at the Iona session in Brooklyn and played on the album Island Wild. Max performs with several groups, including Daoine, Andy Lamy's Hudson-Shannon Line, and he appeared at the Boston Celtic Music Festival with Calum Pasqua's Parcel of Rogues.