By Maria DelGreco

Gaelic Storm got their start playing monthly gigs for friends at Santa Monica's O'Brien's Tavern in 1995, but the band's popularity skyrocketed when it appeared in James Cameron's Titanic as the Celtic party band in the ship's steerage. After three studio albums on Virgin/EMI early on, the band has since flourished in an extreme DIY fashion. Gaelic Storm is a truly self-contained entity; an indie model for the new music industry that knows its identity and audience, and stays in close contact with its fans.
The Glengarry Bhoys are described as bold, unorthodox, vibrant, and evocative. The Glengarry Bhoys hybrid of Canadian Highland Scots and French Canadian musical idioms has evolved into a sound that is weighty, authoritative, and extremely entertaining.
The Prodigals, who define their original sound as jig-punk, are one of the most successful bands to emerge from the East Coast Irish scene. The band members grew up largely in Ireland and their original songs blend a funky and anarchic energy which combines a New York attitude with the passion and tradition of Irish Music.
The Screaming Orphans hail from Bundoran, Co. Donegal. They are four high spirited, musically obsessed sisters who have taken the great tradition of music with which they were raised and put their own spin on it. The Orphans draw on a diverse set of influences ranging from Simon & Garfunkel to REM, with a strong focus on melody driven songs with pop and rock strains, yet never forgetting their traditional Irish roots.
Devri Band is composed of Declan Houton, Larry Flint, Steve O'Callaghan & Chuck Parrish. Devri is an exciting and dynamic band from greater Boston, with major ties to Ireland. The band plays all styles of Irish music, as well as classic and modern rock, country and folk. Instruments include fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, whistles and drums. While Devri's music is firmly based around the ballads, tunes and rousing music of Ireland, at a typical Devri show you will hear songs from The Pogues, Johnny Cash, The Dubliners, The Beatles, Snow Patrol, U2, Garth Brooks & The Wolfe Tones.
The Screaming Orphans.
The Gobshites are a Celtic punk band from Boston MA. Formed in 2002 by Peter Walsh, their music has been compared with the Pogues and Black 47, but with a twist. As well as taking Irish songs and punking them up, they take classic punk songs and 'Irish' them up. For example, in their hands The Ramones' Long Way Back To Germany becomes Long Way Back To Ireland with a fiddle jig incorporated.
The Great Whiskey Rebellion is a high-energy band that combines traditional Irish music with driving rhythms and rock instrumentation. With a classically trained electric fiddle, jazz rhythm guitar, heavy bass, and pounding drums, the band draws from an eclectic range of ethnic influences, making each song their own. From foot-stomping Irish tunes to Appalachian folk music and Middle Eastern melodies, The Great Whiskey Rebellion is all about making music that gets everyone in the crowd on their feet. The band has won the “Best Americana Act” two years in a row from Pulse Magazine Worcester Music Awards.