Booking & Reviews
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Stage Plan
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Band Biogs
Click on names below for biographies. The John McSherry Trio, John McSherry Band and John McSherry & The Soma Band consist of various groupings of the following musicians:
| John McSherry with Tony Byrne | Dónal O’Connor Michael McCague | Francis McIlduff Alan Burke | Ruben Bada Tíona McSherry |
Press Reviews
The three lads are, of course, all in the very top flight of Irish musicians – Irish Music Magazine
A few years after their debut CD Tripswitch, AFL are back with a more contemplative release. The fireworks of that first recording are toned down, the arrangements are stripped back, and the whole feel is more relaxed. The core line-up of John McSherry on pipes and whistles, Dónal O’Connor on fiddle and keyboards, and Francis [...]
McSherry’s piping is a glorious mix of hauteur and melancholy – The Irish Times
Five years after their spine-tingling debut, and after their triumphant collaboration with Bob Brozman on Six Days in Down, At First Light have released a thoughtful collection. Piper John McSherry and fiddler Dónal O’Connor form the backbone of their sound, with Francis McIlduff (of the McPeake family), adding subtle bodhrán percussion and pipes. McSherry’s piping [...]
Top of the crop in 2010 – Folk Roots Magazine
“As Ireland’s economy spirals ever futher into the slough of greed-induced despond, it’s heartening that the island’s traditonal musicians continue to release albums which, in many cases, are guaranteed to offer far more than spiritual analgesia. Top of the crop in 2010 was, indubitably, the debut solo album by the Belfast born uilleann piper John [...]
The lifeblood of any tradition – The Irish Times
“If collaboration was always this much fun, we’d all be doing it. American tricone and Hawaiian guitarist Bob Brozman has had his share of music partners. This prolific performer and recording artist has hit the colder climate of Co Down in the company of At First Light fiddle player Dónal O’Connor and piper John McSherry. [...]
The best piping to come out of Ireland – Irish Music Magazine
“Piper, John McSherry has always provided some of the best piping to come out of Ireland. As a founder of Lúnasa, and a member of Coolfin and Tamalin, McSherry’s playing has always become the centre of the pieces. With the release of his first solo album, ‘Soma’, he has given his fans an album that [...]
This reviewer would be in the front row at every gig – fRoots Magazine
“Given that he has spent so many years exploring the music of different cultures, mostly in tropical climes, it was only a matter of time before virtuoso slide guitarist Bob Brozman would bring his expertise and vision to blend with Irish music: this album, arranged and recorded in the six days of the title, sets [...]
Complex, Multi-layered and a lot of fun! – Songlines Magazine
“The Belfast Uilleann Piper JohnMcSherry sprang to fame with the band Tamalin in the 1990s, before moving on to Donal Lunny’s Coolfin, appearing in the first incarnation of Lunasa, collaberating with Mike McGoldrick and recording a stonking duo album with fiddler Donal O’Connor with whom he also plays in ‘At First Light’. He has always [...]
Piping hot… – The Irish World
“Uileann piper extraordinare John McSherry – founding member of trad supergroup Lúnasa – is one of the instrument’s most awesome practitioners. He has released two collaboration CDs , ‘At First Light’ with chum Michael McGoldrick and ‘Tripswitch’ more recently together with Dónal O’Connor. He has also shared the stage with some of the shiniest lights [...]
Soma – The Irish Times
“Belfast piper, graduate of Lúnasa and linchpin of At First Light, John McSherry has chosen an intensely disciplined route to his first solo album. His piping is as taut as a highwire and yet, when required, as relaxed and capacious as a fishing net, gathering the tunes within its gabháil without ever stymying their full [...]
Tripswitch – Songlines Magazine
“John McSherry has probably never played better in his life…It’s not just the precision of his playing, but its powers of sheer invigoration which confirms McSherry as one of Ireland’s foremost piper…if there’s a better Irish album released in 2006 I’ll willingly dance naked in Trafalgar Square with a ferret on my head. But only [...]
Sure Hands at the Switch from McSherry and O’Connor – The Irish Echo
“My first exposure to the talent of Belfast-born uilleann piper John McSherry, winner of Oireachtas and All-Ireland senior titles, was in 1990 when he and three siblings – singer and flutist Tina, fiddler Joanne and guitarist Paul – formed Tamalin. Teenagers belying their age, they were a highly promising and justly touted band, and Paul [...]
In a nutshell: an album of fantastic tunes, brilliantly played! – Living Tradition
“In a nutshell: an album of fantastic tunes, brilliantly played! You could analyse the time signatures and tempo changes of these exciting tunes (many co-composed by McSherry and O’Connor, others traditional arrangements) till the cows come home, but what’s the point? This is a glorious forty minutes – listen from start to finish, overflowing with [...]
Tight as a drum and as louche as a bordello queen – The Irish Times
“Tight as a drum and as louche as a bordello queen, Tripswitch is a collection for the wide open road, fuelling the miles long after the tank runs dry. John McSherry set the bar high on his 2001 album, At First Light, and his pairing with Donal O’Connor while touring that album led to this [...]
Sending out a ‘call to arms’ that demands the attention of the listener – Green Man Review
“The first track of Lunasa is as emphatic a musical statement as anyone could have possibly hoped for. Rather than coming out of the traps running with a jig or a reel, the band opt for ‘Lord Mayo’s March,’ Mc Sherry’s pipes sending out a ‘call to arms’ that demands the attention of the listener. [...]
To cut a long story short, it’s all fabulous – Irish Music Magazine
“This is a ‘back to roots’ recording from two top-class young musicians who’ve been experimenting with a more modern sound… At First Light opens with a musical manifesto: a combination of the best of Irish music, old and new, with a broad definition of Irish… There are some lovely guitar breaks and the two understated [...]
There are notes here to sublimely twist your eardrums and send shivers down your spine – BBC Folk Review
“Michael McGoldrick and John McSherry are both acknowledged masters of their art. Both began playing pipes and/or whistles whilst still in single figures age-wise and both have been part of some seriously influential groups over the last few years: Toss the Feathers, Tamalin, Flook, Coolfin, Capercaillie and Lunasa… It’s usually the first track on a [...]
The music is performed with the panache and integrity you would expect from two of the folk worlds finest – Folking.com
“This, I must admit has been on my most wanted list since I first heard it being promoted some months ago. I won’t go into the historical background of the artists here, just to say that when you get a combination of this quality who can fail? Well, to be perfectly honest no one! The [...]
The quality of the melodic playing is unimpeachable – Scottish Herald
Coolfin live at Celtic Connections “When Donal Lunny brought his new band over two years ago, it was a case of early days and work in progress. Now that band is Coolfin, with an album of the same name which was one of 1998′s outstanding releases, and an onstage presence that matches and at times [...]
‘He’s actually a great Led Zeppelin fan’, Lunny explains. ‘He can improvise no problem!’
“..Lunny’s fiddler, Nollaig Casey, makes some flights of her own on the new C.D, but the most fearless adventurer is piper John Mc Sherry, who can build a whirling spiraling solo in almost John Coletraneish style. ‘He’s actually a great Led Zeppelin fan’ Lunny explains. ‘He can improvise no problem.’” Alister Clarke (Sept 1998)
They deliver in virtually every selection – Celtic Music Mag
“Tamalin is the McSherrys…Their music lies somewhere between traditional and Celtic rock (progressive traditional?) and is characterized by catchy chord progressions, creative rhythm changes and a complimentary (almost innate) balance among instruments.They are all accomplished musicians who get to show their stuff, not with extended solos but by acutely playing off one another, making their [...]
Stars of the night, Tamalin – Irish Music Magazine
Guinness Celebration Tour of Australia “At Last we were treated to the stars of the night, Tamalin. This five piece took to the stage carrying with them energy and a real presence. John McSherry was superb, a true master of the pipes, nonchalantly sitting right of stage, listening and watching the others before launching himself [...]
I have never heard the wailing of the pipes sound so close to the human voice – Irish Music Magazine
Coolfin live at Whelans, Dublin The set of reels which followed were one of those rare moments where modern and traditional elements blend seamlessly. Fionn O’Louchlainn undefined the music with a funky offbeat bassline which for some reason matched all of the solos perfectly. Sharon Shannon’s accordion was excellent, but was eclipsed by a wonderful [...]
If there is a premiere league amongst Irish bands, Lunasa are certainly there at the top of the tree – Irish Music Magazine
“If there is a premiere league amongst Irish bands, Lunasa are certainly there at the top of the tree. Five excellent, creative and imaginative players combine to produce a stunning debut C.D. Lunasa is a collective of Sean Smyth (fiddle), Mike McGoldrick (flutes), John McSherry (uilleann pipes and low whistle), Donagh Henessy (guitar) and Trevor [...]
Tamalin – Q Magazine
“many have tried to make folk music more approachable, from Fairport Convention, who introduced it to electricity, to the Pogues who force-fed it bile and vodka. Here, newcomers ‘Tamalin’ apply a different finish to some excellent traditional playing, massaging it into a sound that strays convincingly into pop territory. What emerges is-surprising for a first [...]