Influential Musicians: Dervish celebrating 21 years in the music business

Official Press.

As part of their forthcoming schedule in 2010 Dervish are planning now a series of special celebratory concerts commencing at Celtic Connections, Glasgow. Sun 24th Jan 2010 Friends and guests joining Dervish specially for the opening show of the series include Kate Rusby, Moya Brennan, Kevin Burke, Mike Mc Goldrick, Vasen and guests. Dervish are now taking bookings for this celebratory concert shows.
I invite you to contact them for further details:

Web: www.dervish.ie
E-mail: whirlingdiscs@gmail.com

Sligo, with its mountains, glens and wind swept Atlantic shore, has long been the source of inspiration for Irish artistry, from the visionary works of W.B. Yeats to the revered music of Michael Coleman. The source remains and the tradition continues, this year marking the 20th anniversary of Dervish coming together. Beginning as a group of musicians playing the local tunes of Sligo, over the last twenty years Dervish have broadened their musical vision and with it their devoted audience, which is now worldwide.

Dervish, whose members include Cathy Jordan, Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes, have performed throughout every corner of the globe, playing for heads of state and for an audience of 240,000 in Rio de Janeiro. They have shared the stage with James Brown, The Buena Vista Social Club, Oasis, Sting, REM and Beck and have chronicled their musical journey in nine classic CDs and two DVDs. Year after year their CDs have topped Folk, World and Roots Music charts in Ireland and worldwide and have met with rave reviews in the international media. Readers of Irish Music Magazine have awarded Dervish Best Overall Trad/Folk Band of the Year and, in what is perhaps their proudest moment, Sligo City Council bestowed on them in recognition of their work the Freedom of the Borough.

Onstage, a Dervish performance ranges from powerful and energetic dance tunes to sublime interpretations of Irish songs and airs with vocals, fiddle, flute, accordion, bodhrán, mandola and bouzouki. Interwoven with Cathy’s beguiling voice and engaging stage presence, an evening with Dervish is filled with enough warmth, conviviality and inspiration fill a lifelong memory. And for twenty years now, there has been no better way to get a taste of the traditions and the magic of Sligo than through the music of Dervish.