Blaggards are an American Celtic rock band from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The Houston Press has described them as "H-town's heir to the emerald throne of

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

and

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

History

Blaggards are led by guitarist and singer Patrick Devlin, who grew up in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

listening to

Irish rebel music Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and heavy metal bands like

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. After moving to Houston in 1994, Devlin fronted an Irish rock band called

On The Dole On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

for several years before starting Blaggards in July 2004 with bass player Chad Smalley (son of Nobel laureate

Richard Smalley Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University. In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of ch ...

), violinist Turi Hoiseth, and drummer Brian Vogel. Hoiseth and Vogel have since left the band, leaving Devlin and Smalley as the only original members. Blaggards have toured nationally and internationally, and performed at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

2008, where they were the only Celtic-based act on the official schedule. Their music has been played on the Sirius Satellite Radio program ''Celtic Crush'', hosted by

Larry Kirwan Larry Kirwan (born 1954, Wexford) is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the rock band, Black 47, and conceiver/co-writer of Paradise Square, the Broadway Musical for which he received a Tony Award nomina ...

Black 47 Black 47 was an American Celtic rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne, and derives its name from a traditional term for the summer of 1847, the worst year of the Great Famine in Ireland. History Beginn ...

. In 2013 he included their recording of ''

The Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time. The song describes a ...

'' on his compilation album ''

Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion ''Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion'' is a 2013 compilation album of Celtic rock music. The album's tracks were selected by Larry Kirwan: taig, expatriate Irish writer, radio host and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the New York-base ...

''. The song "

Big Strong Man "My Brother Sylvest'" also known as "Big Strong Man", is an American song, but often performed by English folk singers and Irish bands. History My Brudda Sylvest' was written in 1908, words by Jesse Lasky and Sam Stern, music by Fred Fisher. T ...

" from Blaggards' first album ''Standards'' appears in the 2010 British film '' The Kid'', directed by Nick Moran. “Big Strong Man” and "Drunken Sailor" (also from ''Standards'') were both featured in episode 86 of the CBS series '' The Good Wife'', aired on March 24, 2013.

Members

* Patrick Devlin - Vocals and guitar * Chad Smalley - Vocals and bass

Discography

*''Standards'' (2005) ''1. Drunken Sailor'' ''2. Bog Songs'' ''3.

(Yakety Sax)'' ''4. Prison Love Songs ( Folsom Prison Blues/ The Fields of Athenry)'' ''5. Slapper's Medley'' ''6. Foggy Dew'' ''7.

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

'' ''8.

Rocky Road to Dublin "Rocky Road to Dublin" is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan about a man's experiences as he travels to Liverpool, England from his home in Tuam, Ireland. Originally popularized by Harry Clifton, it has since been perf ...

'' ''9. Suspicious Minds'' ''10.

Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time. The song describes ...

'' *''Live in Texas'' (2010) ''1.

Waxie's Dargle "The Waxies' Dargle" is a traditional Irish folk song about two Dublin "aul' wans" (older ladies/mothers) discussing how to find money to go on an excursion. It is named after an annual outing to Ringsend, near Dublin city, by Dublin cobblers (w ...

(Live)'' ''2.

Whiskey in the Jar "Whiskey in the Jar" ( Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee ( highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is ...

(Live)'' ''3. Rocky Road to Dublin (Live)'' ''4.

Spancil Hill ''Spancil Hill'', or in original spelling Spancilhill, is a traditional Irish folk ballad composed by Michael Considine (1850–73), who was born in Spancil Hill and migrated to the US. It bemoans the plight of the Irish emigrants who so longed ...

(Live)'' ''5. Slapper's Medley (Live)'' ''6.

Leaving of Liverpool "(The) Leaving of Liverpool" (Roud 9435), also known as "Fare Thee Well, My Own True Love", is a folk song. Folklorists classify it as a lyrical lament and it was also used as a sea shanty, especially at the capstan. It is very well known in B ...

(Live)'' ''7. Botany Bay (Live)'' ''8. Foggy Dew (Live)'' ''9. Big Strong Man (Live)'' ''10. Drunken Sailor (Live)'' ''11. Bog Songs (Live)'' ''12. Wild Rover (Live)'' ''13. Irish Rover (Live)''

References

External links

Official website

Review of "Standards" in the Austin Chronicle

Paddy Rock Radio's Top Celtic Rock & Punk CD’s of 2005

Article in Connect Savannah Online

Article in The Boston Globe about the word "blaggard" that mentions the band

Article about Blaggards on MetalMartyr.com
{{Authority control Musical groups from Houston Celtic punk groups