Sliotar

After 17 years, 5 albums and well over 2000 concerts, Sliotar is an institution.
It all started on Paddy’s day in The Porterhouse, Dublin in 1996 when three guys were asked to play music for the day. This led to a residency that is still going strong and to our knowledge the longest running in Dublin. Sliotar has toured Europe extensively and continues to do so on a regular basis. They have played in hundreds of venues, brought their mix of Irish folk music from Finland to Italy, from County Clare to Bratislava and everywhere in between.

In these times when the music business is struggling Sliotar has broken the mold and gone back to basics by packing a van, hitting the road and building a following one concert at a time. Quarries, castles, theaters, clubs and pubs, Sliotar has done it all (even a Tesco’s car park). Their live show is legendary and has become an annual event in many places around Europe. They work with the crowd to win them over. They give people permission to cast aside everyday life and just live in the moment with the music.

Ray McCormac’s piping and whistle playing has unmatched fluidity and dexterity. Backed by the rhythmic play between Des Gorevan’s drums and J.P. Kallio’s guitar, the band can lift the roof off any venue. The tunes are based on Irish tradition but more and more originate from the band. The songs vary from JP’s modern folk songs to Rays haunting acapella renditions of age old traditional songs.

Individually, from the soundtrack of “Waking Ned” to guesting on a chart topping Finnish rock bands album, the members of Sliotar have done it all. Collectively the band has broken the mold time and time again.

So whether it is on a big festival stage in front of thousands of people or a small Irish pub in the beautiful countryside in Austria, be sure to catch Sliotar live.