The Paul McKenna Band are a five piece

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musical group from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Music career

The band was formed in 2006. Early members of the band were singer and songwriter Paul McKenna (guitar), Sean Gray (flute, whistles), David McNee (

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

), Ruairidh MacMillan (fiddle) and Ewan Baird ( bodhran), later members included Conor Markey, Mike Vass, and Jack Smedley. They played traditional and folk music as well as original songs and tunes. In 2009, they released their debut album ''Between Two Worlds'' on the

Greentrax Greentrax Recordings are a Scottish record label that specialises in Scottish traditional music. History The label was founded in 1986 by former police inspector Ian Green, who played the bagpipes and was responsible for arranging folk music ...

record label. The album was produced by the band and

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...

, and engineered and mixed by Kris Koren and John Weatherby in

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

, Scotland in late 2008. After the release of their debut album, they toured with throughout the UK and Europe in 2009 and 2010, visiting Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Spain. The band won the award for Best Up and Coming Artist at the

Scots Trad Music Awards The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and ...

in November 2009 and subsequently performed a concert at the Arches in Glasgow which was broadcast on

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal s ...

. The band also completed a one-month tour in the USA to coincide with the release of ''Between Two Worlds'' on Mad River Records in late 2010. In December 2010 the band recorded their second album ''Stem The Tide'' with producer

Brian McNeill Brian McNeill (born 6 April 1950, Falkirk, Scotland) is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of Battlefield Band which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new m ...

at Watercolour Studios in

Ardgour Ardgour () (, meaning ''Height of the goats'') is an area of the Scottish Highlands on the western shore of Loch Linnhe. It lies north of the district of Morvern and east of the district of Sunart. Administratively it is now part of the ward ...

. The album was released in March 2011. In 2011 the band toured throughout North America, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom appearing at major folk festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest,

Tønder Festival Tønder Festival is an annual folk music festival in Tønder, Denmark. It is held on the last weekend of August. It was founded in 1974. The first festival took place in 1975. The festival is one of the most prominent festivals for traditional and ...

and

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix of ...

. They received a nomination for Folk Band of The Year in the

and performed at the award ceremony in Perth Concert Hall although the award was won by the

Battlefield Band Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. The band is noted for t ...

. They were nominated again in 2018. Fiddler Mike Vass joined the band at the end of 2011 and performed his first concert with them at Glasgow's

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...

Festival. They recorded their third album, ''Elements'', in a recording studio they built themselves, and used crowdfunding to help with the recording. It was released in 2013. A further album, ''Paths That Wind'', was produced by

John McCusker John McCusker (born 15 May 1973) is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and p ...

and released in 2016. They also toured extensively throughout North America and made their first trip to Australia in 2016, performing at the

Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia. Every year ap ...

among others. They have continued to perform in festivals around the world.

Discography

*''Between Two Worlds'' (2009) *''Stem the Tide'' (2011) *''Elements'' (2013) *''Paths That Wind'' (2016) *''Breathe'' (2019)

Awards

MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2009 - Best Up and Coming Artist
Fatea Magazine single/EP/Mini Album Of The Year 08

References

External links

Official site
* ttp://www.folkworld.eu/38/e/cds1.html FolkWorld CD Reviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul Mckenna Band Scottish folk music groups