Viral Irish musician is bringing the tin whistle back with covers of popular songs

From loud and out-of-tune renditions of "Hot Cross Buns" to "Cockles and Mussels", most of us will probably end up putting it away come the end of 6th class, not really thinking much of it.

 However, musician Tara Howley has taken a new approach to the instrument, and trad as a whole,  with her going viral on social media for her covers of pop songs, including those of the biggest pop star in the world, Taylor Swift.

 Tara, a multi-instrumentalist, has worked on several stages over the years,  performing with "Riverdance" and in The 2 Johnnies’ band, to name a few, but has always played pop songs on the tin whistle, uploading them to TikTok during the pandemic.

"I’ve always played pop songs on the tin whistle," Tara told Extra.ie.

"I had toured with 'Riverdance' from 2015 until COVID shut that down in 2020, and back in 2020, I started uploading them, I did an Eminem song, and Doireann Garrihy played it on 2FM for me, and that’s how I got an online following.

"My phone started hopping, and I was like 'oh my god, what’s going on?' so it actually started years ago."

@tarahowleymusic Our Song - Taylor Swift tin whistle version. #tinwhistle #taylorswift #ts #taylornation #taylorswifttok #tinwhistletunes #irishmusician @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation #taylornation #swifttok #swifties #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound - tarahowleymusic

While Tara admitted that most of the country probably associate the tin whistle with the aforementioned covers of "Hot Cross Buns", she added that there’s more to the instrument than just torturous primary school sessions — with it being one of the favorites of the 14(!) instruments she plays.

 "I used to teach before I went on tour," she explained.

"I always loved the tin whistle, and I know the tin whistle is the instrument where people are like “oh, it’s awful, it’s awful," but it’s actually not.

"You can play 'Sean South of Garryowen', you can use it as a party piece, being able to play. And I think there’s definitely a resurgence of the whistle online. Some people are dusting off the cobwebs, saying 'I haven’t played this in ages!'"

Tara went viral in particular for playing tin whistle covers of Taylor Swift songs, particularly of "Our Song" from Taylor’s debut album, with it gaining nearly 800,000 views on TikTok.

As for how the Swifties reacted to her covers of their favorite artist’s songs, Tara revealed that her song covers have not only seen a surge in people asking where they can get the instruments (with her set to launch her own line soon), but international Swifties were dumbfounded by her covers.

"I got accepted [by the Swifties], I think," Tara joked.

"I remember thinking 'oh my god, am I gonna get destroyed!?' But they’re just a very happy bunch, they were like 'oh my god, is that a recorder? What instrument is this? It sounds like a little fairy,' but it was just a bit of fun really.

"I’m proud to say that I’ve loved Taylor Swift for the last 20 years. I got the debut album on CD and put it in my Walkman and used to walk around with my Walkman on my jeans with my headphones thinking I was so cool."

As for those who may have been inspired by Tara’s prowess and are looking to dust off the cobwebs (or buy a fresh one), she’s more than happy to help, with her set to release a tin whistle beginner’s guide in the coming months.

"I’m releasing a beginner whistle book in the coming months," Tara revealed to Extra.ie.

"And I’m working with a whistle company that I got my very first one from,  they’re an Irish company, and that’s something really special.

 "Just go for it [and learn]," she added.

"Don’t be afraid, it’s gonna be so cool. If you’re at any party or any gathering, you won’t have to worry about being called out for singing a song, you can just pull out the whistle. You can throw it in your bag — I’ve often gone out with it in my bag — and you can just whip it out. It’s great.

"It certainly wasn’t cool to play trad when I was younger," Tara admitted.

"But now it’s cool. When I was in school, during the summer and the Fleadh was on, but no one knew what it was, but we’d go every summer. But now, everyone’s like 'oh, we’re going to the Fleadh,' and I’m like 'that’s so cool.' People who never played music before were just going out to it.

"People are proud of it again, and just the culture and music. It’s great."

Tara can be found on TikTok and Instagram, @TaraHowleyMusic.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.