The Guggenheim Grotto is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

- pop

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

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 ...

. The members of The Guggenheim Grotto are Kevin May from Ballinrobe, and Mick Lynch from Westport. Guggenheim Grotto has a unique sound, characterized by an emphasis on piano instrumentals supporting their harmonies. Partridge of the ''Hartford Courant'' described their style as "folk-influenced indie-pop" and said it fit well with other music popular on college and public radio, such as

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

, and

Kings of Convenience Kings of Convenience is an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway, consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe. History Øye and Bøe were both born in 1975 (Øye on 21 November and Bøe on 25 October) and have known each other since they ...

. The music varies from rock, to pop, folk, and even soul. Their influences include

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, although that is not immediately apparent from their sound.

History

Kevin May, Shane Power and Mick Lynch all participated in the

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

music scene that produced musicians like

Glen Hansard Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten ...

. May and Lynch have been playing as a duo since 2003. In 2004 they approached Power, a musician and producer with a successful studio, about editing their self-recorded ''A Lifetime in Heat'' EP. Power was impressed with their work, and later joined the group as their drummer and also produced their next album. All three play multiple instruments. The Guggenheim Grotto was well received when they came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2006. In 2006, and again in 2009, the band performed at

SXSW 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 conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. The band's debut album '' ...Waltzing Alone'' was self-released to immediate critical acclaim in

on 9 September 2005, and their first promotional single ''Told You So'' rapidly climbed to No. 12 on the Irish National Airplay Chart. They released '' ...Waltzing Alone'' in the U.S. on New York-based new model indie label ''United For Opportunity'' on 26 September 2006, and in November of that year embarked on their first U.S. national tour. The band has since completed four U.S. tours. Early in 2007, The Guggenheim Grotto's ''A Lifetime in Heat'' won The 6th Annual Independent Music Award for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song.Independent Music Awards – 6th Annual Winners
Songs from their first album have been used in major network prime-time TV shows like

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

and Brothers And Sisters, and the album received positive reviews from U.S. national publications like

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

, as well as regional press like

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

and

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

. The band's second album, ''

Happy the Man Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single. History Early days (1973–76) The group formed in 1973 in Harr ...

'', was released digitally for a limited time in the U.S. and Ireland on 7 October 2008. Former member Shane Power's studio experience has been credited with giving the album its more expansive, experimental sound. On ''Happy'' The Guggenheim Grotto's sound is more akin to

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and Leonard Cohen. Intricate acoustic guitar work is the centerpiece for most tracks. The sound is more like Crowded House than Jack Johnson, with electronic influences reminiscent of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

. The album reached No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Folk Chart. The CD was released to stores 27 January 2009, and the band toured nationally to support it. ''

The Universe Is Laughing ''The Universe Is Laughing'' is the third full-length album from County Mayo/Wexford, Ireland folk- pop band The Guggenheim Grotto The Guggenheim Grotto is a folk-pop band from, County Mayo, Ireland. The members of The Guggenheim Grotto a ...

,'' which Lynch and May recorded themselves, was released in 2010. As of early 2012, the duo was working on a new album that will have a bigger, more band-oriented sound than ''Universe,'' with money they raised from fans through the website PledgeMusic.com. In September 2013, the band announced that they had signed to

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her first album, '' Slow the Rain,'' was released in 2005, and she has since released eight more albums: '' Girls and Boys,'' '' Be OK'', '' Everybody' ...

's record label Cabin 24 and Secret Road Music Services and changed their name to Storyman.

Line-up

* Kevin May –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Mick Lynch –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Shane Power –

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Discography

* ''A Lifetime in Heat (EP)'' (2004) * '' ...Waltzing Alone'' **9 September 2005 – Ireland release **26 September 2006 – U.S./Canada release (United For Opportunity) * ''Told You So (EP)'' (January 2007) * ''Tigers (EP)'' (September 2008) * ''

'' **5 September 2008 – Ireland release **27 January 2009 – U.S./Canada release (United For Opportunity) * ''

'' (15 June 2010) (United For Opportunity)

References

External links

UFO Music Guggenheim Grotto page

Live appearance on the NPR-affiliate WXPN's "World Cafe"

Live appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic"

Interview of lead singer and principal songwriter Kevin May on WNUR's "The Lit Show"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guggenheim Grotto, The Musical groups from County Mayo Irish folk musical groups Irish pop music groups Independent Music Awards winners