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Lunasa

Lúnasa's is one of the single most influential and innovative band performing Irish instrumental music today. What Lúnasa has accomplished in their now decade-plus career has deeper precedent in jazz and progressive bluegrass, and has made them entirely unique in Celtic circles. Simply put, Lúnasa welds the ancient soul of traditional instrumental Irish music to a new rhythmic framework, one which breaks down the barrier between soloist and accompanist and creates a dynamic polyphony that preserves the dignity of their sources while fiercely thrusting them into the modern age.

From day one, the double bass of Trevor Hutchinson has been the band's fulcrum. The presence of more young Irish bands featuring the double bass a relative stranger to the genre is testament to Hutchinson's commanding presence on the instrument and his ability to invent an integral role for it where once there was none. Previously with the Irish roots-rock band the Waterboys, Hutchinson first met future Lúnasa guitarist Donogh Hennessy in the band of accordionist Sharon Shannon herself no stranger to innovation. Hennessy's peerless playing carries with it both drive and sensitivity, acting almost as a drummer, sympathetically stating the pulse while providing a shifting harmonic undercurrent around Hutchinson's monolithic lines.

Lúnasa began to take shape in 1996, when Seán Smyth, an all-Ireland champion on both fiddle and whistle, joined Hutchinson and Hennessy for a series of trio gigs in Scandinavia. Sensing an immense potential in this core lineup, they returned to Ireland and toured with Mike McGoldrick (flutes, whistles, pipes) and John McSherry (pipes, whistles). "That was a very exciting time for me," says Smyth in retrospect. "I had always dreamt of a line-up of fiddle, flute and pipes, and when the band came together and did those early shows combining the fiddle, flute, and pipes with Donogh and Trevor, I was thrilled from the first notes"

The New York Times called Lunasa "the hottest acoustic group on the planet". Don't miss this amazing ensemble in a rare Humboldt County stop.

"The Bothy Band meets the Flecktones in Lúnasathe bass, fiddle, flute, guitar, and pipes build a rumbling momentum as if determined to drag Irish folk music kicking and screaming into the 21st century."

The Washington Post