John Doyle & Mick McAuley have been playing music together on the international stage for over twenty years. As multi-instrumentalist members of Irish-American supergroup Solas, they combined to create part of the group’s unmistakeable early sound which garnered critical worldwide acclaim with the Boston Herald heralding Solas as “The Best Traditional Band in the World”. Over the last several years, Doyle and McAuley have toured extensively as a duet all over Europe and the U.S. and have recently recorded and released a new and exciting album of original and traditional songs and tunes which range from explosive instrumental sets to heart-rending and beautiful ballads. Individually, they have played and recorded with some of the most respected musical artists in the world and are, themselves, among the most highly regarded musicians in the Irish folk world.
As members of Solas, John and Mick performed to sold out audiences internationally and made multiple appearances on many renowned National Public Radio programs in the U.S. such as A Prairie Home Companion, E-Town, World Cafe Live and Mountain Stage. John Doyle has since gone on to tour and record with some of the great artists of the Folk, Celtic, and Bluegrass worlds – as music director for folk icon Joan Baez, guitarist for Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tim O'Brien, Kate Rusby, Mick Moloney, Linda Thompson, and Cathal McConnell, and is featured regularly on the hugely popular BBC Scotland’s Transatlantic Sessions. Mick McAuley has since gone on to play with renowned 17-time Grammy-winner Sting for several years, has made several solo albums and has appeared with artists such as Patti Larkin, Paul Brennan (Clannad), Mick Hanly, Mick Moloney, Karan Casey, Terry Woods (Pogues), and Mary Chapin Carpenter, to name a few.
Doyle’s powerhouse rhythmic guitar sound along with McAuley’s virtuosic instrumental skills make for driving tune sets from this pairing. When all that is interspersed with the beautifully crafted original songs of these two skilled songwriters, the result is one of the most powerfully dynamic and versatile duets in folk music today.
