GateHouse (Live Irish Music)

Roscommon-based band Gatehouse are unashamedly trad and proud to present the music that has been the very heartbeat of their home turf - Connacht province of western Ireland - for generations.

Where much of the country's modern musical output tends these days to focus on edgier or left-of-centre styles, and more emphasis placed on showy speed and dexterity, here, we find four kindred spirits all with one common purpose - keeping the old-school approach ticking over nicely.

They tap into a rich seam, and the approach provides a much-needed "comfort" that many of the better-known figures of the genre find appealing, such as that great guardian of the Donegal tradition, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, of Altan, who describes their playing as "music that lifts the spirit."

Well-established all over Ireland, where they have performed at some of the most prestigious events, incredibly, the band has never promoted any previous releases in the UK, or ever toured on this side of the Irish Sea. But they are about to put that right.

Their last studio CD was released in 2019, and brand new album is in the pipeline.

The band has rightly won much praise from the media on their home patch. Irish Music Magazine said: "Individually, these musicians are superb but when they combine as Gatehouse, they are outstanding!”

The Irish Times agreed too, complimenting their "maturity and depth."

The set is always a lively affair, well constructed with an equal share of songs and instrumentals. You’ll often hear folks commenting that it reminds them of those brilliant and abiding early memories of The Bothy Band in full flight.

Gatehouse are John McEvoy (fiddle/mandolin/mandola) Rachel Garvey (vocals), Jacinta McEvoy (guitar/concertina) and John Wynne (flutes/whistles).