Paul McKenna Band

The Paul McKenna Band are a five piece folk musical group from Glasgow, Scotland.

The Paul McKenna Band
The Paul McKenna Band
Background information
OriginGlasgow, Scotland
GenresFolk music
Years active2006-present
LabelsGreentrax Records

Compass Records

PMB Records
Websitepaulmckennaband.com
MembersPaul McKenna
Conal McDonagh
Robbie Greig
Ewan Baird
Conor Markey
Past members
  • David McNee
  • Rua Macmillan
  • Mike Vass
  • Sean Gray

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), Ruairidh MacMillan (fiddle) and Ewan Baird (bodhran),[1] later members included Conor Markey, Mike Vass, and Jack Smedley.[2] 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 record label.[3] The album was produced by the band and Dick Gaughan, and engineered and mixed by Kris Koren and John Weatherby in Moffat, 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[4] in November 2009 and subsequently performed a concert at the Arches in Glasgow which was broadcast on BBC Alba.

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 at Watercolour Studios in Ardgour. 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 and Cambridge Folk Festival.

They received a nomination for Folk Band of The Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards[5] and performed at the award ceremony in Perth Concert Hall although the award was won by the Battlefield Band. They were nominated again in 2018.[6]

Fiddler Mike Vass joined the band at the end of 2011 and performed his first concert with them at Glasgow's Celtic Connections 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 and released in 2016.[2]

They also toured extensively throughout North America and made their first trip to Australia in 2016, performing at the Woodford Folk Festival among others.[7] They have continued to perform in festivals around the world.[8][9][10]

Discography
  • Between Two Worlds (2009)[1]
  • Stem the Tide (2011)[11]
  • Elements (2013)[12]
  • Paths That Wind (2016)[13]
  • 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[14]

References
  1. "CD Reviews". The Scotsman. 12 February 2009.
  2. "The Paul McKenna Band - Between Two Worlds". Greentrax Recordings.
  3. "MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2009 The Results". archive.md. 3 December 2009.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-08-13. Retrieved 2012-02-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2018: The Paul McKenna Band – Scots Trad Music Awards". projects.handsupfortrad.scot.
  6. Williams, Tom (October 18, 2015). "Woodford Folk Festival 2015/2016 Lineup Announced".
  7. "The Paul McKenna Band & Curly Strings: Schottischer und estnischer Folk". Deutschlandfunk Kultur. 17 October 2016.
  8. "Al via le danze a Busto Folk 2018 con Paul McKenna Band che inaugura il Festival Interceltico a Busto Arsizio". SempioneNews. 14 September 2018.
  9. "Interview: The Paul McKenna Band". The Echo. 25 May 2018.
  10. King, Neil. "Review". FATEA Magazine.
  11. McFadyen, Neil (5 August 2013). "The Paul McKenna Band - Elements". Folk Radio.
  12. McFadyen, Neil (21 March 2016). "The Paul McKenna Band: Paths That Wind - Album Review". Folk Radio.
  13. "Website Powered by FATEA". archive.md. 20 April 2013.
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