Lift the Ball

Cairan O'Kane is from Cushendall. Cairan's mother and
father are both fine fiddlers in the Glens style. Cairan also plays
fiddle but his main instrument is button accordian. Cairan is also a great
traditional Seanos style singer, unusual in someone so young.

Aiden Prunty is a great flute player in the Sligo Letrim style. He comes from a very musical family. Aiden's wife is a fiddle player and both his children play flute and fiddle. Aiden has a long association with the Armagh Pipers Club. Barry is the main singer of the group, he plays guitar and bazuki (but not at the same time).

Eamon Maguire is well known in Ireland as a Bodhran maker. Eamon Plays both traditional and sometimes with a three piece blues band. Eamon has played all over Europe with different trad groups.

The Pope's Nose

Since it's formation in 1995, The Pope's Nose is a group of folks with a common desire to sing Irish songs and hopefully earn some free beer. From life-long musicians to simply friends with a love of the music (and beer), we carry on every year fitting our performance to the instruments and voices available at the time.  The Pope’s Nose started out as the house band for The Kincora Pub, but has semi-regularly adorned house parties, fund-raisers, weddings, and for the past two years has played the St. Patrick’s Day spectacular at Kells Irish Pub.

Members: Tim Farrell, Reverend Birnie, Steve Harrold, John Green and Ciela Acosta

The Irish Experience

Driving Celtic and Appalachian music performed by an electrifying fiddler, a
rock guitarist, and a downright doghouse bassist, THE IRISH EXPERIENCE is a band of musicians who like nothing better than to light up crowds on Saint
Patrick's Day.

Their self-titled CD is perennial favorite on iTunes and their top-selling
Morrison's Jig is now featured on a Hallmark card.

Get ready to dance!

Servants of the Rich

Jeffrey Baird plays guitar (for many decades now) and sings traditional Irish songs, especially songs from the rebel catalogue.  Jeff is an attorney, born in Oregon, educated at Yale, and descended from the the family of Baird's Bar, Glasgow.  He finds songs of Irish rebellion uniquely passionate, giving expression to the long quest for Irish freedom, but also for human freedom.  In that broad sense, Jeff believes "The Men Behind the Wire" speaks as much about Mandela as about Bobby Sands, and "The Minstrel Boy" speaks as much about the American firefighters of 9/11 as the men of 1798, all of whom gave their lives for their friends and for freedom, just yesterday and long ago.

Thanks.

We are the Servants of the Rich...
and SO ARE YOU!

Ockham's Razor

Ockham’s Razor formed in the spring of 2006 and began introducing audiences in the Pacific Northwest to their exciting, youthful style of Celtic and Folk rock music in June 2006 at the Fremont Summer Solstice Festival. As a result, the band was commissioned to write and record their first original song (“A Face, An Echo”) for an independent film.

After working with Grammy-award winning producer Conrad Uno (Presidents of the United States of America, Mudhoney, Posies) on their debut CD, Ockham’s Razor began performing shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, the San Francisco Bay area and Portland.

In the following months, the band of Kris Clements (whistle & vocals), Ben Ireland (guitar & vocals), Katie Corcoran (Fiddle) and Randy Whitelock (Percussion) would continue to write their own music as well as arrange traditional Celtic songs in new, modern ways with an edge and re-introduce audiences to the songs they’ve always loved. The bands fun, young sound and exciting, inter-active stage shows also attracts new audiences to the music who may have never previously listened to Celtic music.

The musical backgrounds and influences of the members of Ockham’s Razor is widely varied which helps create a blending of genre’s into the Celtic music the band creates. From djembe bass lines to electric guitar effects on the fiddle, Gaelic sung classics and modern day mainstream hit songs, Ockham’s Razor is not your typical Celtic band.

The Whole Hog

Gerald McCabe - vocals/guitar/banjo/bodhran
Ryan McCabe - bass/vocals
Emmanual McFarland/ Flute

Gerald McCabe, formally of the well know Belfast trio Durkin, is being joined by his son Ryan on bass and Emanual McFarland on flute.  The Whole Hog are a high energy Irish experience that all will enjoy!

Liam Gallagher

Hailing from Belfast, Ireland, this man started singing Irish folk songs in the 1960's, while in his early teens, and a golden time for music in general. With people like the Clancy Brothers, Dubliners, Furey Brothers, Wolfe Tones, Planxty and Chieftans forming the amazing pop culture they provided Liam with a vast repetoire to draw inpspiration from.

Liam spent his twenties and thirties "indulging in the bounty".

In 1982 Liam arrived in Seatlle where he met Kells proprietor, Gerard McAleese at an open-mic session in Seattle. Gerard had just found a location and was in the process of opening what is now Kells Seattle. This provided the venue which Liam was looking for. Well it's twenty-three years later he still entertains at Kells five nights a week! Liam's music can be purchased in Kells online store.

Bernie Irish Folk

Enjoy listening to romping old sea shanties, lovely ballads, wild drinking songs and a few other suprises as well! Bernie has been performing traditional Irish folk music for over twenty years.

Joe McAleese

Joe is Kells founding father. Mr. McAleese can often be found singing along with the band as he has done for years. He has a unique and beautiful voice that lends great accompaniment on stage. Be sure to check him out and say hello if you get a chance, he's one of the nicest men in the world. Joe McAleese has a new CD out as well which can be purchased in Kells online store.

Check out the live music schedule...

See the map for our location and make sure you catch Seattle's favorite Irish Festival!