Edited by John O’Brien
With Ten Brand New Tracks Recorded Live at the Taku Taku Club in Kyoto, Japan
Out April 1: Lúnasa Records
Available Now for Pre-Order!
“Lúnasa have catapulted both themselves and the music onto another plane where creative juices reign supreme.” – The Irish Times
“…anybody who listens can’t help but find them contagious.” – Billboard
Lúnasa – the “Irish music dream team” (Folk Roots) releases Live in Kyoto on Monday, April 1, 2024, on Lúnasa Records. Recorded live over three days at the famous club Taku Taku in Kyoto, Japan, the album includes ten never-before-heard tracks including tunes composed by Lúnasa’s Uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, and Lúnasa’s flute player Kevin Crawford, as well as celebrated concertina player and composer Niall Vallely, and composer/musicians Paul Cranford, Steve Cooney, and Alan Stivell.
“Since they came here for their first tour in 2000,” said journalist Tadd Igarashi, “Lúnasa has been developing a very special bond with Japanese fans, who love and respect Lúnasa as their music has affection for traditional Irish music as well as a very modern sensibility and inventive attitude to playing tunes. For them, Lúnasa is a contemporary band as much as a traditional band, a 21st-century Irish band.
The Japanese fans always open their heart and listen closely to what they try to do, and will always wait for them here. It is such a beautiful relationship and this album is rock-solid proof!”
Lúnasa is currently touring the album across the US during their six-week coast-to-coast tour from February 22 – March 27. To find out if they are playing in a city near you, click here: https://www.lunasamusic.com/tour
About Lúnasa
Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, Lúnasa was formed in 1997 by members of some of the greatest Irish groups of the previous decade.
From the start, the band’s complex arrangements and unique sound reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Critical acclaim followed, with The Irish Echo describing the band as “the hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet”; MOJO magazine named the band “the new gods of Irish music,” adding that “nobody since the Bothies has wielded such a thrilling rhythmic underlay.”
Having since sold over a quarter of a million records and performed over 2,000 shows across 36 countries, Lúnasa has won multiple awards and become one of the most influential bands in the history of traditional music. Collaborations with singers Natalie Merchant, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and Tim O’Brien and high-profile concerts at The Hollywood Bowl, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Glastonbury Festival, and Bercy Arena Paris helped broaden the band’s audience and cement its place at the forefront of contemporary Irish music.
Lúnasa’s current lineup features: Trevor Hutchinson, who achieved fame as the bassist with The Waterboys; piper Cillian Vallely was a member of Riverdance and recorded with Bruce Springsteen; Flute player Kevin Crawford, considered one of Ireland’s greatest flute players, was a member of Moving Cloud; award-winning fiddler Seán Smyth, who performed with Donal Lunny’s legendary Coolfin and accordionist Alan Kelly; Guitarist Ed Boyd made a name for himself in the UK folkscene with bands such as Flook, Kate Rusby, and Cara Dillon.
