Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

PAVILION 7:00 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2024 GAELIC STORM † and THE HIGH KINGS † HARLING SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE † † Ravinia debut THE HIGH KINGS The High Kings are Finbarr Clancy, Darren Hold- en, Paul O’Brien, and Brian Dunphy, who have held the position as the distinctive voice of Irish folk music across the world for the last 15 years. Having already surpassed 1.5 million monthly lis- teners on Spotify with their two platinum-selling albums plus a half-dozen more live and studio-re- corded sets, The High Kings celebrated those 15 years together in 2023 by releasing 15 brand new tracks to their fans, as well as their eighth studio album, The Road Not Taken . Renowned for their captivating harmonies and timeless melodies, The High Kings filled the album with original songs that breathe new life into traditional folk music, blending the old with the new. The Road Not Taken also brims with collaboration, co-written and produced with some of Ireland’s most re- spected and popular artists, including The Script, Kodaline, Picture This, Sharon Corr, and more, as well as featuring guest appearances by international legends such as longtime Journey frontman Steve Perry. Having amassed almost 2 million streams since its release in June 2023, The Road Not Taken has reached the number-two independent album position in Ireland—as well as number one in Folk and number 2 in all genres—and has been a bestseller in the United States and Germany on its way to hold- ing a variety of top-five chart positions worldwide. In addition to their recorded and live-show follow- ings, The High Kings have several prestigious performances to their credit, including for the Prime Minister of England (2011) and US presidents Barack Obama (2012) and George W. Bush (2009), as well as at the Pentagon (2015). Notable performances also include Glastonbury, the Isle of Wight (three times, headlining in 2015), Times Square, headlining the St. Patrick’s Day concert in Trafalgar Square London (2015), and performing at the top of the Empire State Building on St. Patrick’s Day 2023. The High Kings are making their Ravinia debut. GAELIC STORM It’s hard to imagine a band just coming into their own after 20 years of success, but that’s exactly what makes Gaelic Storm a true anomaly. This multi-national, Celtic juggernaut grows stron- ger with each live performance, and after over 2,000 shows, they are a true force to be reckoned with. With their latest studio album, Go Climb a Tree , Gaelic Storm has never sounded more rep- resentative of themselves as musicians and as live performers. The band attributes their con- tinued success to their fanatic, well-diversified audience: The country-music folks adore the storytelling, the bluegrass-heads love the instru- mentals, Celtic fans love their devotion to tradi- tion, and the rockers simply relish the passion they play their instruments with. On Go Climb a Tree , Gaelic Storm co-founders Steve Twigger and Patrick Murphy, along with longtime friend and co-writer Steve Wehmever, are again at the helm of songwriting. The album has every- thing—party drinking songs (“The Beer Song”), patriotic anthems (“Green, White & Orange”), beautiful folk songs (“Monday Morning Girl”), spritely instrumentals “The Night of Tomfool- ery”), perfectly poppy songs (“Shine On”), and even a raucous pirate song (“Shanghai Kelly”). Gaelic Storm takes a true blue-collar, hard-nose approach to touring, consistently traveling the US and internationally over 200 days a year. The dedication to live shows dates to the mid-1990s, when Gaelic Storm kicked off as a pub band in Santa Monica, CA. Gaining significant notice on that circuit, by the end of the decade, the musi- cians had appeared in the blockbuster film Ti- tanic , where they performed “Irish Party in Third Class.” This laid the groundwork for top- ping the Billboard World Chart six times, mak- ing appearances at mainstream music festivals, and regularly headlining the largest Irish Festi- vals across the country, all the while gaining a reputation as a genre-bending Irish rock band whose songs mix Celtic traditions with some- thing uniquely creative. Looking to the future, Gaelic Storm is excited about what lies ahead. In 2022, they were excited to welcome Natalya Kay, an incredible fiddler hailing from Western Mas- sachusetts whose energy and presence onstage has been a force to behold. Gaelic Storm is mak- ing their Ravinia debut RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 19 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 66 CIANDUIGNAN(HIGHKINGS)