Great news just is is that Johnny & Steve have been asked to Headline this years Ballyshannon Folk Festival, more news on that as the year progresses. They have also been rehearsing with ACE Drummer & Percussionist "Blendi Krasniqi" who is going to perform with them on all of their gigs this year, including the Galway and Ennis gigs above. Full bio on Blendi to follow.
Johnny Fean and Steven Travers, legendary players on the Irish rock scene, will play The Mall Theatre in Tuam on Friday 2 March.
Johnny Fean is best known for being one of the world's top guitarists when he played with Horslips, who at the height of their fame inspired such luminaries as Rory Gallagher to take up the guitar.
Along with Steven Travers, a former member of the Miami Showband and one of Ireland's best bass players, the pair have come together to create a musical experience that mixes furious paced rock, grass roots blues and some Celtic rock classics.
"Now listening to the album for the third time. No doubt, this is your
most mature work to date. "Trouble" blew my mind. If I close my eyes I think this is what Horslips could have sounded like if they had kept going, but they didn't and you did, and have produced a cracker of a song.
"The Sunset Waltz" is a masterpiece. "Catch me if you can", "Rollin", "In the dead of Night", all excellent. If the Stones at this stage of their career produced songs of this quality, they would be hailed as geniuses.
There is a wonderful mood to the album, and you hear that in all the playing. Guitars, Hammond, harp, accordion throughout the album are beautifully blended and sit perfectly within the songs. It will sit right along side Mick Taylor's - Leather Jackets in my collection
Guess what McCabe, you've found what you're looking for. Good lad. It's been a road worth travelling."
Johnny Fean’s Celtic Rock history is a matter of record. To this very day he is still regarded as the definitive celtic rock guitarist. Raised in the Co. Limerick/Clare area of Ireland, his love affair with the guitar began at the tender age of 10.
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For his appearance at Stage 2 acclaimed guitarist Johnny Fean will be joined by renowned Irish bass guitarist, Steve Travers well known for his work with The Miami and master of the Steinberger 5- string headless bass.
On the night, fans can look forward to a mix of Rock, Blues and Trad and of course some thunderous Horslips classics, including we are told, an electrifying 10 minute version of the anthemic ‘Dearg Doom’.
Johnny Fean is best know for his work with Horslips and Steve Travers was once the bass player with the Miami Showband. Together they create a musical experience that mixes furious paced rock, grass roots blues and some Celtic rock classics.
Johnny Fean began playing guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin and harmonica as a teenager and performed with groups like Sweet Sweet and Jeremiah Henry. When Declan Sinnott left Horslips, Fean was drafted in on a guitar and spent a very successful decade with the band.
Over twelve albums and a multitude of singles, Horslips lay down the template for Celtic Rock mixing traditional and rock music and referencing tales from Celtic mythology. Horslips played their last concert in Belfast in 1980 encoring with a rousing version of The Rolling Stone's "The Last Time".
After Horslips, Fean spent his time playing with The Zen Alligators, Host, Treat and The Psychopats. Horslips re-grouped last year to open an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in the Orchard Gallery in Derry and recorded a new album, Roll Back.
The idea is that without the nurturing qualities of the arts permeating our lives, as well as the visceral excitement of rock ‘n roll impelling us ahead, life here could get pretty grim.
Conversely, there is nothing like the special feeling a good festival brings to a place.
There was an energy in the air last October and we hope that with an expanded line up of concerts and performances and a wide selection of seasonal events, to feel that pulse again this time round.
The music is top rate and this brochure gives you a comprehensive gig guide. Please check it out.
But there is a lot more to it.
In collaboration with the Dundalk Film Society, we are showing two stunning films on the roots of modern music.
We are going once more with the Pumpkin displays at the fountain at Market Square. [LT: Great picture of this on the site.] Given the days that are in it we thought the spooky stories of old Dundalk would be well worth retelling and so we have a series of Spooky Walks through the town organised by Victoria Kingsly O'Hagan. Be afraid but not very afraid.
There will be a special Halloween Farmers Market in the Museum Courtyard bringing you all the delights of the Season from the farms and food producers of the region. And the full support of the Arts Officers and Library services mean that Dundalk Town Council will once more bring you a cornucopia of Halloween treats.
Many thank yous are due and the page overleaf gives an indication of the range of organizations who have sponsored and assisted this years Tain Festival.
For a fiercely independent music and community event like the Tain Rhythm and Roots Festival, to really take shape, many people needed to make an early commitment to the event.
Question: What artist has played at each Táin festival ...2003, 2004, and again in 2005?
A. Elton John, B. John Spillane, C. John O'Groats
These days Fean is back in Shannon, has been there for the past month, basing himself once more in the town where his love of the blues and Irish trad was first kindled.
“My father worked in the airport and we moved out to Shannon when I was very young”, he says. “At that stage I was listening to the likes of BB King, Buddy Guy and Otis Rush. I was big into black US blues artists. But I was also becoming interested in Irish music”.
At 16, he began to pluck the tenor banjo. He passed through the Clare pub sessions and picked up the mandolin on the journey.
“I went to Doolin and Lisdoonvarna quite a bit”, he recalls. “There, I played a lot with the fiddle player Ted Furey, Finbar’s father. Those were great times. I was instilled with a great appreciation for the music. The Russell brothers were a big influence and I realised that the Clare style was important”.
It wasn’t long before he made it to Dublin. By now, he’d established a name with a number of Limerick bands, the likes of Sweet Street and Jeremiah Henry. While in the city, he replaced Declan Sinnott in Horslips and his influence on the group can’t be underestimated. His love of Irish trad seeped into the band and from this, Ireland’s freshest sounding band gathered significant momentum.
“At the time, we were unique. There wasn’t any other group doing the kind of music we were involved in. And we made a decision to bring the sound to as many people as possible. The gigging was fairly intensive. We played five, six nights in a row, one night off and back on the road for another week again”.
Crowds flocked to hear Horslips. They’d show up in a village on a Monday night and the venue would be packed. regarded as one of the few bands to pay proper attention to their fan base outside the capital, their popularity mushroomed.
