in this month’s Odds’n’Sods all the news fit to print on what’s going in our wonderful Celtic-Punk world. From the scene’s biggest and well established bands to those just starting out it’s all in here!
We start off this month with some footage from deepest South London just a couple of weeks ago. BRYAN McPHERSON came over from Boston for a couple of gigs (and some other stuff to be revealed shortly!) and here he is playing the massive epic ‘American Dream’ from his award winning last album, the Ted Hutt produced How To Draw Everything.
Now a homegrown band from Oldham RUN OUT THE GUNS. They perform Irish Folk with no airs or graces, no pretence, just fine quality musicianship and raw enthusiasm. Here they are performing a brilliant ‘Drunken Sailor’ at The Bank Top Tavern, Oldham at the end of March.
DROPKICK MURPHYS continue to churn out the new music and I for one am constantly surprised at how it is. This week they released a single with the Violent Femmes taken from their album Okemah Rising due out May 12, 2023. Preorder and Presave http://linktr.ee/dropkickmurphys
I was too pissed and missed the last train on St. Patrick’s day night after watching Neck here in London so missed the DROPKICK MURPHYS live stream from Boston so if anyone can point us to it anywhere on the net???
New York Irish band THE NARROWBACKS are cut from the same cloth as London’s Bible Code Sundays and represent their community in song. https://linktr.ee/thenarrowbacks
JOHNNY KOWALSKI has done a solo album Out Here Forever more Folky than the usual Folky-Punky ‘ness of his usual band Johnny Kowalski And The Sexy Wierdos.
South-West English band BLACK WATER COUNTY put out a superb acoustic unplugged version of ‘Rise And Fall’ from their album Taking Chances.
Irish band THE ELECTRIC WEDNESDAYS put out ‘Shipping Up To Drogheda’ this week and they call it Raucous Rock n Roll! and I can’t disagree with that!
London bluegrass outfit THE HACKNEY HILLPICKERS playing ‘I’ve Waited As Long As I Can’. Filmed end of last year at honky tonk bar The Dukes Of Highgate, London by Bopflix.
HAPPY OL’ McWEASEL – Such Is Life
RUN OUT THE GUNS – Powder And Shot
CONTINENTAL – Hello
FEROCIOUS DOG – 10 Year Anniversary
FAIRPORT CONVENTION – Full House for Sale
DIASPORA – Home At Last
JETHRO TULL – RökFlöte
KROSTELEG FOLKEPARTI – Heimsleg
DORTHIA COTTRELL – Death Folk Country
NORTH ALONE – Ohne Jacke Raus EP
Remember we can’t review it if we don’t hear it!
We would love to review SLOPPY BUT LUCKY a Irish-American Folk-Punk band from Topeka Kansas and they have released an album Four Leaf Failure but it’s only available on streaming services. These guys are unique within the Celtic-Punk scene in that they don’t get paid for gigs and donate any fees to animal charities hence they don’t want to spend money getting physical copies of the album done. A truly marvellous and wonderful thing to do. Now at over $20,000 since January 2021 their is a list of who they have supported over on their Facebook page. So like them anyway on FB and Instagram.
SHANGHAI TREASON new single ‘Pallbearer’ will be out next month! Outrageously excited for this one, pre save it ‘ere: https://hypeddit.com/6nohlq
The MISPLACED PUNK SHOW is a radio show / pod-cast we listen to and they did a special St. Paddy’s Day edition featuring 45 minutes of out of this world Celtic-Punk. Give it a listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2125292/12470100-episode-4-st-paddy-s-day-edition
MELMOR formed in 1994 and are one of the most important Celtic-Punk bands in Brittany who sung in both Breton and French. They played their last gigs in 1999 and in 2005, a double live CD and DVD was released. In 2016, they reformed with two originals members and since then played in France and Germany. In 2019, four French labels released a vinyl LP featuring all their studio materials and some live songs and then last month they put out a new song.
The fourth solo album from Dublin’s multi award winner DAOIRI FARRELL, in his own words, ‘combines the rawness of my first album, the impact of my second album and the beauty of my third album.’ Crafted and honed over two and a half years, it is the work of a mature artist who has succeeded in taking on the challenge of recording a completely acoustic album that heads deep into the heart of the songs.
Ex- Dropkick Murphys founder Rick Barton’s band CONTINENTAL had a new 8-track EP out on St. Patrick’s Day that we missed. Continental mix it up, from Country through to Powerpop and Blues through to Punk but always very very good.
DIASPORA are an Irish trio from Ballaghaderreen playing a mix of originals tunes and their own take on traditional ones. Having spent their entire lives abroad they are happy to be finally back home in Ireland. Two tracks from their new album are available to hear below.
DARIUS KOSKI guitarist and songwriter of the US Punks The Swingin’ Utters as well as the Celtic-Punk band Filthy Thievin’ Bastards has a new 2-track single out.
2022 saw Folk-Rock legends FAIRPORT CONVENTION celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their 1970 album Full House (though two years late thanks to Covid!) with the original line-up of Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks and Dave Pegg (with Chris Leslie filling the shoes of the late great Dave Swarbrick) at the bands Cropredy Festival where the show was recorded and has just been released as Full House for Sale.
PINT KILLERS are a Street Punk band from Boston, Massachusetts with Mark Doherty, Bill Jolliemore and Johnny Fencer formerly of The Pug Uglies together to play Punk in their own style with anthems about celebration, drinking, friendship, and brotherhood. Their debut album The Dirty Dozen was released in 2018 but has only just been downloaded onto Bandcamp.
We’ve been doing this now for nearly 10 years and in that time we have covered 100’s of bands and musicians but still plenty of bands have passed us by. We can’t see everything after all so this column is to remind us of bands that never made these pages at the time but deserve another mention. These hopefully come with a free download like today so you can help yourself to some free music. Today we revisit TAIL LIGHT REBELLION from Kenosha, Wisconsin. An amalgamation of roots music genres, incorporating styles from Irish, Slavic, Canadian, and American folk music. Started as a one man band, this project blossomed into what is now a folk dance band that has been called a melding of Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen and The Pogues. Broken is their third album from 2016 but all their release are available for free over on Bandcamp as ‘name your price’ downloads. Next month we will feature the band that Tail Light Rebellion started in THE SWAGGERING GROWLERS.
LANKUM play the Barbican Hall, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS on Thursday 4th May. DAOIRI FARRELL plays Kings Place, 90 York Way, N1 9AG on Friday May 5th. Also on the 5th is the gig of the month with the marvellous HUNGRY GRASS and NECK playing The Birds Nest in Deptford for the landlord Joel’s birthday. Trad meets Celtic-Punk and one not to be missed. Its free in but buy him a drink ok! Trad band LUNASA are at ICC Hammersmith, May 12-13. THE OLD TIME SAILORS at the Holroyd Arms in Guildford on Friday 12th. 17 accomplished musicians playing Irish Folk, Bluegrass, and so much more. Not seen them before but heard great things and Guildford is just a short hop on the train from London. The utterly amazing and fantastic and amazing THE MARY WALLOPERS play Kentish Town Forum on Saturday 13th May The following day is HOTHOUSE FLOWERS at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the 14th. With the demise of the 4 piece Wolfe Tones and the inevitable split into two bands and while both offer a great night out we can’t recommend DEREK WARFIELD AND THE YOUNG WOLFE TONES enough. Power, passion and history with their charismatic leader. Playing the 229 on Great Portland Street on Friday 2nd June. FLOOK at the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith on June 10th. The marvellous CROCK OF BONES play the Crouch End Festival on Sunday 9th July. American Folk-Country-Doombilly band the HEATHEN APOSTLES play The Lexington in Kings Cross on Wednesday 19th July. The founders of Alt-Country THE LONG RYDERS are coming back to these shores this month with a full Europe and UK tour. The postponed MR. IRISH BASTARD UK tour is back on and during November they will be heading to Brixton (22nd), Southampton, Bridgwater, Manchester and Edinburgh. Can’t wait!
LONDON IRISH RFC are on the verge of their best finish in the league in over a decade and can make the Play-Offs if their great form continues. Join the London Celtic Punks and support the lads! Tickets and details.
All money we raise from our merch we put back into the Celtic-Punk scene so if you like what we do then you can support us by checking out our online store and buying something. Just this month we helped get Bryan McPherson over from Boston, Mass. to play a few gigs on these shores. All the merch we sold at the gigs went directly to Bryan but we are back to square 1 again so please check out the site. The Harp’n’Bones design is back in all sizes and also on black or white shirts. Also we have the last few remaining polo shirts, nifty woolly hats and Green’n’White ‘Skully Cap’ ringer shirts that we need to get rid of. Click the link below for the full range of all our other tatt. Shirts, badges, stickers, flags, CD’s and fridge magnets – all the discerning Celtic-Punk fan could ever need! Help keep Punk Celtic! https://the30492shop.fwscart.com/
Facebook is rubbish and I can’t wait to see it go broke and a return to the era of paper flyers and fanzines. It has a stranglehold on all forms of expression that is far from healthy. If you are thinking of leaving and still want to keep up with us you can do via the London Celtic Punks group on the phone app Telegram. Similar to What’s App but completely free from outside interference. Join us on Telegram, don’t miss a single post and even receive the odd exclusive and special offer! https://t.me/londoncelticpunks/
Some new London Celtic Punks merch. The LCP ‘Tricolour Skull’ mug is back after a couple of years. Available for a tenner in the UK (£20 EU) with free badge / coaster/ sticker. I nearly fell over when I found out its £20 to post to the States but there you go if you desperately want one it’s £30! The ‘Celtic Punks’ metal badge is selling well only a handful left and available for just £5 – UK and £7 – EU post-paid and we’ll throw in a few stickers and a button badge too. For further overseas contact us and we’ll work it out. Also if you want to add more merch from the store above contact us. It helps us out if you buy from Paypal (friends & family) for these items to londoncelticpunks@hotmail.co.uk
Even though we hate it Facebook does supply the (very) occasional ray of sunshine so a shout out to some good friends of ours over on Facebook. The Dropkick Murphys – Fan Page and the Celtic Punk, Folk And Rock Fans are two of the best music forums on FB let alone Celtic-Punk. Ran By Fans For Fans just like you and me. Like and join in the fun!
With the sad demise of The Celtic Punkcast over there in Oz we have thrown in our lot with the good folks over at MacSlon’s Irish Pub Radio. Check them out for all the best in Celtic-Punk, Irish Folk and Rock. They also have just about the biggest selection of shirts and hoodys and all sorts of other gear over at the https://www.macslons.com/ shop.
Back in time to my youth when things were much simpler and everything especially music and football were much better and before the inspirational WOLFE TONES split into two different bands. Here’s their sublime ballad celebrating the 1st of May.
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Yeah I know we are hardwired to like ANYTHING that comes out of Boston but this is some killer street punk right enough. Only founded earlier this year Pint Killers feature ex-members of Nowhere USA, Dot Rats, Third Knuckle, The Struggle and the Pug Uglies. “Boston Brewed Punk Drinking Songs And Anthems” they call it and fair enough that’s exactly what you get. Their shared Irish ancestry looms large over everything they do in this four track EP about celebration, drinking, friendship, and brotherhood. The songs flash by in… well a flash of only eight minutes. Fists in the air and heads down working class punk rock, or blue collar as the Yanks prefer to put it. All the songs burst with energy but it’s the longest track ‘Around The Hood’, all of two and a half minutes!, that tick’s all the boxes for me. It may not have bagpipes but so what! And what a great name too…
The Muckers are coming at you from Atlanta city in Georgia in the deep south of America. The city rose from the ashes of the Civil War to become a major city and later on in the decades following the Civil Rights Movement, during which the city earned a reputation as too busy to hate for it’s progressive views compared to other cities in the deep south
We have been long time fans of Texan band Nowherebound and while they may not be a celtic-punk band, or even a folk-punk band, but they are simply fantastic so deserve their spot here. If you can imagine a fast and heavy punk rock band that somehow manages to squeeze enough folk melodies into their songs then that’s them. A folk band in all but their music! Coming out of the same camp as punk bands like Social Distortion, Rancid, and Gaslight Anthem but with their cap tipped firmly in the direction of the Murphys or The Pogues. Much more straight up punk rock then their previous releases have been they toured Europe again in 2016, for the umpteenth time, but unfortunately have not made it to Blighty yet. From hard rock in-yer-face to pop punk melodies to raise-your-glass-and-sing-along-anthems Nowherebound that hit you in both the heart and the head.
One of the better known of the North American celtic-punk bands Hoist The Colors come from the urban metropolis Los Angeles. They play a blend of punk rock, trad Irish, Americana and bluegrass that is as original as the city they call home. Now this is one album I would have loved to have gone into real detail about but it only landed in LCP Towers a few days ago so I am having to write this on just a handful of listens. And my first impression is the same as my tenth. It’s a fecking masterpiece! A wonderful LP that really shows the depth of the scene and the willingness to push the boundaries of what is celtic-punk. From first track ‘Little Rebel’ right through to ‘Something More Than This’ their is not a single bad track on Mourners. The title track was the first song released from the album and came with a superb video. Excellent use of the mandolin and the punchy punk rock keeps the toes a tapping.
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