The Young Dubliners

Dublin natives Keith Roberts (vocals, guitar) and Paul O'Toole (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica) formed the Young Dubliners in the early 1990s after meeting one another in a Los Angeles pub. Roberts had been tweaking some Irish ballads of his own and opted that a band would be in order. O'Toole obliged, as well as Brendan Holmes (bass). They introduced their hearty rock sound on the Rocky Road EP in 1994; their first studio album Breathe appeared a year later, as well as new member Charles Waltz (violin). Their live shows had a jam-like appeal, similar to the vibes of Phish and the Dave Matthews Band, therefore, the band excelled. The live effort, Alive Alive O, was released in 1998, but Waltz left for other musical opportunities. Founding member Paul O'Toole also departed, but by 2000 the Young Dubliners had expanded into a septet and independently released the critically acclaimed Red on their OmTown label. Actor Gabriel Byrne got the band to write the theme song for his short-lived television show Madigan Man. Their life on the road kicked into high gear, too. The Young Dubliners spent most of 2001 touring Europe with Jethro Tull. They also performed at the 2002 Olympics ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah. That same year, the Young Dubliners scaled back to a five-piece with Roberts, Holmes, the returning Waltz (violin) and newcomers Bob Boulding (guitar) and Dave Ingraham (drums). Absolutely appeared in June and a joint American tour with Seven Nations and Great Big Sea followed. In 2005 the group released Real World, which featured an appearance by Tull frontman Ian Anderson. ~ MacKenzie Wilson