Listening to Celtic guitar and Irish guitar can introduce you to a whole host of new sonic experiences and principles that you may not be aware of. In this video, I’m diving into 10 must-hear Celtic guitarists that have left me speechless and my mind BLOWN! 🤯
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One of the best ways to learn a new genre or style of music is to find the most inspirational players and listen to them. So, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m highlighting 10 inspirational Celtic guitarists that just absolutely blew me away.
I’ve learned a ton about Irish and Celtic music in preparation for this episode, and I’m excited to share with you some of my discoveries about the rich musical history and tradition of these genres.
In addition to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with you, I want to revisit a topic we talked about a few weeks back: practicing 10 minutes a day. I have an exciting story to share with you that should help dispel any doubts about the TAC Method.
Last but not least, I’ve got my weekly picks of the acoustic guitar news you can use!
As always, you can catch Acoustic Tuesday at 10 am every Tuesday in these four places:
- Acoustic Life YouTube channel
- TAC Guitar Instagram Page
- Get show notes emailed directly to your inbox.
- Listen to audio-only below or in iTunes
Tony check out Sonny Condell – especially the album “Camouflage”. A hauntingly beautiful acoustic album.
Sonny is uniquely one of the greats
Hi Tony, another great show!! A name in Celtic music that I personally think is a must check out is J.P. Cormier. He comes from Cape Breton Island (northern tip of Nova Scotia). The one song of his that showcases his finger picking skills is the song “Kelly’s Mountain”. Enjoy and cheers!!
Parker
Dogee Mcclain
https://youtu.be/BHxp1XCiyqg
Kris Drever – he’s brilliant
BTW – Ireland is part of the Celtic Nations, it isn’t separate.
Dick Gaughan (the ‘gh’ is pronounced as the ‘ch’ in the word Loch – not a hard G or K) is Scottish, as is Tony McManus.
TVZ … very cool!!! ;o)
Check out Steve Cooney in Ireland.
Robin Bullock. How can you leave him out? He’s an amazing traditional Celtic guitarist and all around amazing musician. https://robinbullock.com/
Hi, Tony
I am a late starter. I love your Tuesday guitar show.
Have you ever heard of The Cleveland Classical Guitar association.
They have guitarist from all over the world. Who are awsome.
Hey Tony, thanks for featuring Celtic Music guitarists in today’s show for the ‘eve’ of St. Patrick’s
Day! Here are some more guitarists to enjoy in the Celtic vein…
1. Steve Cooney
2. Dennis Cahill
3. Jim Murray
4. Seamie O’Dowd
5. Frank Kilkelly ….player and educator…check out his site irishtradguitar.com
Hey has his own list of top traditional Irish guitarists here https://tradconnect.com/profiles/blogs/irish-top-10-irish-traditional-guitarists-dadgad-music-accompanis
Tom Eure and Amelia Osborn are incredible musicians, creative to the core of their being.
https://www.tomeure.com/?fbclid=IwAR0yHE2I74YIQnjLGKHrBZpBVy86BHjO63RrnBkoZ0uhBybFBhnR37dfF20
Hi Tony, another great Celtic guitarist is Steve Cooney, from Australia. There is also Ged Foley (England), Daithi Sproule (with the great Irish band Altan), Dennis Cahill, and I would throw in Andre Marchand who is a Quebecois guitarist (closely related to Celtic). There are MANY other great players. I love your list, though. John Doyle and Tony McManus are my favorites. By the way you pronounce Ó Domhnaill as O’Donnell. Oh, and you should check out Robin Bullock, he plays about everything with strings.
Beautiful Celtic artist.thanks Have a good st.patricks day.🤑💡🤘😁🥨🍺
Fantastic all; but you missed Donal Clancy (son of the great Liam Clancy).
Bert Jansch????
So sad! I think it should remain a historical building and a place where Gibosn guitars are made..
Or something more related than turning it into a hotel..
Sorry- Gibson
Rory Gallagher? Please.
Seamus Egan
Hey Tony check out Seamie O’Dowd one of the best celtic guitarists https://youtu.be/VJE67Mf540A
Hey Tony. In reply to your piece on the old Gibson Factory. When Gibson left Kalamazoo in 1987 a small group of Luthiers working at the plant decided they did not want to make the move to Nashville. They purchased the old plant and started what is now The Heritage Guitar Company and have been building high quality guitars ever since. Please check out their web site. The bad news is that they recently sold to a company out of Singapore. Not sure of what that will mean for production etc. And now we have Hard Rock involved and I have unfortunately seen them fail at many of their locations. Anyway love the show. Regards,
Kevin Paholak
This is cool, a fun way to experience a hotel stay, play, and listen to music!
(When the Hard Rock closed on Yonge St. in Toronto and became a Shoppers Drug Mart, that was a sad day.)
Sarah McQuaid! Well known for her DADGAD playing. And here’s a link to her Irish DADGAD book, which is quite good.
https://mcneelamusic.com/string/guitars/guitar-accessories/the-irish-dadgad-guitar-book/?setCurrencyId=2&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrsGCBhD1ARIsALILBYpooP1PlGw9FiXag4rveXELM7YpOd0hFvk0sdMds5iw2IID2PvqPbQaAumZEALw_wcB
Tony – Thanks for the grand St. Patty’s day show, oh but if it were for an hour. Three players of guitars and other stringed instruments inhabiting the fair lands of Scotland and Ireland from by-gone years you would enjoy are: the educated fingers of Roy Williams from THE CORRIES, Tommy Makem from the Clancy Brothers, and Ronnie Drew from the Dubliners. Please Listen to his song Donegal Danny, and may the wind be always at your back. ~ Tom D______
Oh goodness….I almost forgot to mention Junji Shirota! You absolutely must hear his music. Like Arty McGlynn, Junji is a master accompanist, both in terms of driving rhythms, harmonic colours, and melodic base lines and countermelodies, and overall musical sensibility, AND his melody playing is also exceptional. Check him out here – https://www.marekanaito.com/videos
Tony, how about a second edition of Acoustic Tuesday featuring more Celtic music guitarists?
I can’t believe you missed Stephen Wake (Try Rosemary’s Sister,
Celtic Guitar: Loch Maree, or Wild Mountain Thyme
Celtic? Irish?
Scottish… guitar players:
– Tony McManus
– Dick Gaughan
and
– Tony Cuffe
– Innes Watson
In fact, many many great guitar players in Scotland over a long period of time.
Also see
– Chris Newman, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, Martin Simpson (English)
– Seamie O’Dowd (Irish)
– Steve Cooney (Australian)
Suggest you check out Robin Bullock, MD and Al Petteway, NC.
Hello Tony , Thank you for all that you do, Back a few episodes you spoke about music from the Group Dead Horses, they are fantastic , My wife loves to sing and when she heard them, she told we need to try and learn some of there music , anyway Thank You , always look forward to Acoustic Tuesdays.
Thanks for a great show, Tony – I really appreciate the way you’ve introduced me to all sorts of musicians I’d never heard of (e.g. Nick Drake – wow! – and now I have to check out John Doyle). Your encouragement of the ten-minute rule has taken the pressure off of me (my old belief that under 1 hour was inadequate). I grew up playing violin (starting at 8) and was taught that less than an hour was not enough, and then my freshman year in college i majored in violin and my teacher said that the daily minimum was 3 hours. I have been laboring under that ever since (and that was 1970!). I now try to get my hands on a guitar (or violin, mandolin or banjo) every day for at least ten minutes and as you say, it often leads to a lot longer. I’ve played guitar since I was 12, and while I am pretty proficient, I am still playing a lot of the same stuff I was playing at 20. So, the question is, how to get out of the rut I am in? Thanks for everything.
My favourite Welsh Celtic group are ALAW,
Check out this haunting song on Youtube -with some lovely scenery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IVA71GVc70
This was a super-interesting show, as they all are. I love the way you make connections across different genres, different instruments, every week. It’s a broad – and pretty inclusive – church! This week’s session highlighted, though, something of a recurring ‘sausage-fest’ of top guitarists – there’s a real absence of women here. Maybe the big names are men – and white men – and there will be loads of reasons for this, but there can be no shortage of women, women of colour. How about a show dedicated excellent female guitarists including/beyond Kaki King, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Gwennifer Raymond. They get mentioned, a lot, but its the same names over and over. (Julien Baker was an awesome tip this week, though, thanks)
I thought HARMONY guitars were being built in the old GIBSON plant , maybe they just bought their equipment, does anyone know for sure ?
Michael O’Donnell; great rythm guitar.
What??? I thought that when Gibson moved to Montana that the staff that didn’t move bought the old Kalamazoo site and are building The Heritage range of guitars from that site. So what has happened to The Heritage brand? If they have moved how can they call themselves Heritage anymore??
Hi Tony, Inspired by you to explore different genres, I stumbled on the sound of John Doan’s music. While it doesn’t fit perfectly into either episode 177 (non-guitar instruments) or 178 (Celtic guitarists), as an American guitarist playing Celtic music on a guitar harp, you might have featured him in both episodes!
Tony: Fist saw Shane Hennessey at Milwaukee Irishfest a couple of years ago, and he blew me away.
I ‘m not sure that he’d be described as a “Celtic” guitarst, but Richard Thompson has been playing English/Irish guitar for years. With his wife Linda, together they form a power duo that has been in the forefront of UK music for two or three decades.
Al Petteway I think is very best Celtics guitaris