The Brobdingnagian Bards are a

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

group from

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States.

History

Marc Gunn Marc Andrew Gunn (born March 17, 1972) is an American musician and podcaster. Gunn rose to prominence as the autoharp-playing half of the Brobdingnagian Bards. He and partner Andrew McKee developed a following with weekly performances on the ...

, formerly of Austin Texas' alternative rock bands Skander and Breastfed, released a solo album (''Geography'') featuring himself on autoharp and Andrew McKee on recorder in 1998. This initial collaboration lead to the official formation of the Brobdingnagian Bards in 1999. The group's name is derived from

Brobdingnag Brobdingnag is a fictional land, which is occupied by giants, in Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels.'' The story's main character, Lemuel Gulliver, visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off cou ...

, the kingdom of coarse giants described in

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

's satirical novel ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

''. The band was made up of its original two members,

(

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

, vocals), and Andrew McKee (

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, vocals). The Brobdingnagian Bards musical style is best described as a mixture of

Irish 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

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, with their original compositions often falling into the

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

genre. Although the pair did perform a good deal of purely traditional songs, it is the band's own works that set them apart, with their humorous

pop-culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

and

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

. Despite performing in what is considered a "niche" genre, this duo was ranked as one of the top 20 bands on the original MP3.com. Over time, the Bards also honed their act into live entertainment by adding comedy, with McKee being the "straight-man" to Gunn's antics. As a result, they also became a familiar and popular act on both the

renaissance faire A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

and geek-show circuits. The Bards had the honor of being headliners at the Oscar party for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. As Austin natives, they make regular appearances in the

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

's annual Austin Music Awards poll, taking home the #1 prize for "Best Novelty Band" in 2004, "Best None of the Above" performing band in 2006 (the first Celtic band to ever win such accolades), and "Best Folk Act" in 2007. The band also makes regular top-ten finishes in the folk band and world music categories. In 2002, the Bards were also given a critic's pick award for "Best Renaissance Men" in the 2002 Best of Austin awards. In addition to the many conventions, fairs and music festivals the group performed at around the Austin area, they also have toured coast to coast, and developed a following of devoted listeners, referred to as "Nagians." In 2007 and 2008, the Bards with several of their fans took a vacation tour of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. On September 15, 2008, the Brobdingnagian Bards band broke up amicably in order to pursue solo careers. They played one of their last public performances at The Browncoat Ball, organized by the Austin Browncoats. The Bards reformed in 2012, performing at the Sherwood Celtic Music Festival near Austin and have continued to work together off and on since. The Bards performed at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA in August 2013, 2016 and 2018.

Discography

*''Marked by Great Size'' (1999) *''Gullible's Travels'' (2000) *''Songs of the Muse'' (2001) *'' A Faire to Remember'' (2001) *'' Songs of Ireland'' (2002) *''Memories of Middle Earth'' (2003) *''

A Celtic Renaissance Wedding ''A Celtic Renaissance Wedding'' is a compilation of some of the Brobdingnagian Bards' most romantic songs, and their most requested songs for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Track listing # "Shepherd's Serenade" # "Bridal Chorus" # "Lady F ...

'' (2004) *''

Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales ''Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales'' is a compilation of Irish pub songs, various pop culture inspired songs and parodies, and live versions of songs from the Bards' previous albums. A romantic Italian folk song, "Santa Lucia," is also included. The so ...

'' (2005) *''

Christmas in Brobdingnag, Vol 1 ''Christmas in Brobdingnag, Vol 1'' is a short set of Christmas songs infused with the Bards' unique style. The band kept to their standard autoharp/recorder lineup, creating a "Little Drummer Boy" without drums, and a "Carol of the Bells" withou ...

'' (2005) *''The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs'' (2006) *''LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus'' (2007) *''Real Men Wear Kilts'' (2008) *''Dragons and Virgins'' (2017) *''I Will Not Sing Along'' (2020) *''Another Faire to Remember'', upcoming"Another Faire to Remember"
/ref> See

for additional CDs.

References

External links

Brobdingnagian BardsFeature on Celtic MP3s Music Magazine"The 'N' Word: What the Filk is this Music?"
in

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

"Seeking Stardom? Check the Internet"
in

The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spri ...

Interview with Marc Gunn
on

Slice of SciFi Slice may refer to: *Cutting Food and beverage *A portion of bread, pizza, cake, or meat that is cut flat and thin: :*Sliced bread :*Pizza by the slice, a fast food dish * Slice (drink), a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks In Australia and Ne ...

Electronic Press KitBards on MyspaceBards on SoundClickA Brobdingnagian Minute PodcastAdventures of the Brobdingnagian Bards Comic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bards, Brobdingnagian Musical groups from Austin, Texas Celtic music groups Renaissance fair performers Filkers Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Texas Musical groups disestablished in 2008