Traditional Irish music and traditional American music share a lot of similarities in instrumentation, lyrical content, and community participation. Still, there are a surprisingly few number of acts who straddle that musical gap across the Atlantic—and even fewer who’ve made a decade-long, award-winning career out of it like Galway-based quartet We Banjo 3. Containing two sets of two brothers—Enda & Fergal Scahill and David & Martin Howley—We Banjo 3 have built their legacy on seamlessly combining the virtuosity and precision in each genre’s traditional disciplines with the artful song-craft and infectious live performance of today’s musical landscape. Their upcoming album Open The Road—out July 15th—meets on the corner of complex-but-nimble instrumentation and magnetic, well-crafted songs; a combination of which their fans have been enjoying from studio to stage since the band first landed on American shores ten years ago.
Today, We Banjo 3 shares the first track from Open The Road, the driving jig-turned-indie pop love song, “Hummingbird.” First conceptualized in March 2020 during the great lockdown, David Howley had ample free time. David and his Nashville roommate Scott Mulvahill, an accomplished musician in his own right, spent time in Scott’s home-studio to lay down some new songs. “We had a house full of instruments, microphones, coffee and whiskey, so we did what we could to stay sane,” Howley remembers. Having mentioned to Mulvahill that he had a tune he liked but that needed it still needed to be finished, Mulvahill replied while tearing open a new bag of coffee beans, “Well let’s finish it then!”
Fast-forward to almost two years later, We Banjo 3 finished tracking “Hummingbird” and it landed in the lead-off spot on Open The Road. In addition to the guest musicians who contributed to the initial session—Danny Young on drums and Josh Shilling on keys—The Infamous Stringdusters’ Andy Hall plays his dobro on the final track. Fans can hear “Hummingbird” right now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Open The Road ahead of its July 15th release right here. For more information, please visit webanjo3.com.
Open The Road Tracklist:
Hummingbird
Garden Song
Long Way Down
Heart In Hand
Open The Road
Rialto
Gift Of Life
The First Second Gentleman
Alive With You
Believe In Us
Catch We Banjo 3 On Tour:
June 17 – Dayton, OH – Levitt Pavilion
June 18 – Lakeside, OH – Lakeside Chautauqua: Hoover Auditorium
June 19 – Charleston, WV – Mountain Stage (Culture Center Theater)
June 23 – Memphis, TN – Overton Park Shell (formerly Levitt Shell)
June 24 – Owensboro, KY – ROMP 2022
July 16 – Oak Hill, NY – Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2022
July 19 – Rockport, MA – Shalin Liu Performance Center
July 20 – Natick, MA – Center For Arts In Natick
July 29 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Music Festival 2022
July 30 – Denver, CO – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
July 31 – Lyons, CO – RockyGrass Festival 2022
Aug. 1 – Crested Butte, CO – Center for the Arts Crested Butte
Aug. 3 – Portsmouth, OH – Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
Aug. 5-7 – Dublin, OH – Dublin Irish Fest 2022
Aug. 9-10 – Bethlehem, PA – MUSIKFEST
Aug. 12 – St. Paul, MN – Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022
Aug. 13 – La Crosse, WI – IrishFest La Crosse 2022
Aug. 14 – St. Paul, MN – Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022
Aug. 19 – 21 – Milwaukee, WI – Milwaukee Irish Fest
Sept. 2-4 – Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Irish Festival 2022
Oct. 21 – Frederick, MD – Weinberg Center For The Arts
Oct. 22 – Manteo, NC – Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival
2023 (Rescheduled) Tour Dates:
Jan. 27 – Sacramento, CA – The Sofia
Jan. 29 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage
Feb. 1 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater
Feb. 2 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
Feb. 3 – Wickenburg, AZ – Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 4 – Chandler, AZ – Chandler Center for the Arts
For all tour dates and ticket information, please visit webanjo3.com/tour.
