Ceili & Craic

Featured Artist: Sligo Rags

Mike, Gordon, David, and Johnathan. Copyright photo by Lynda Kay Bruton. Used with permission.

Sligo Rags is one of the most up-tempo performances that holds true to the roots of Celtic music and fav Irish pub/rebel songs. They’re able to infuse pieces of other genres into their repertoire seamlessly. The Sligo Rags incarnations of songs pick up the original heart of the song, but with a new breath of life that will get your feet tapping (if not up out of your seat and dancing). These guys are some seriously talented musicians.

You can catch them performing at all kinds of venues around Southern California. Swing by their Show Schedule page to see where you might be able to catch them.

Sligo Rags Home Page

Sligo Rags has answered ~Who Are We~?
Sligo Rags–Named among the top acoustic bands in LA (by Folkworks Magazine) and two-time winners of the Orange County Music Award for Best Folk Band, this dynamic ensemble presents Celtic Folk with a decidedly bluegrass attitude. Sligo Rags is taking the local and not-so-local Folk and Celtic music scenes by storm with a unique blend of eclectic musical influences. Dan Miller of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine says “These guys have it all–great vocals, lots of energy, captivating songs, well executed arrangements, and tasteful solos.” Their debut studio recording, “The Night Before the Morning After”, was called “the best I’ve heard from a stateside band” by Celtic Beat Magazine, while their sophomore effort, “The Whiskey Never Lies,” (called “the best from the West Coast Celts in many years” by Shay Clark of the Irish-American News), was named one of the top 10 of 2007 by Folkworks. Don’t be surprised if elements of country, gypsy jazz and swing manage to sneak their way into the act as well. Award-winning flatpicking and fingerstyle guitarist David Burns (recently featured in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine), fiddler extraordinaire Michael Kelly, world-renowned bassist Gordon Rustvold, and percussionist Jonathan Baer are guaranteed to fill the room and your lives with electricity. They may give you a good laugh or two along the way as well.

Sligo Rags version of “Courtin’ in the Kitchen” was used for How to Ceili Dance – Walls of Limerick