From the world's biggest festival Rock in Rio to the small village festival in the west of Ireland, for the past twenty seven years the Irish traditional music band Dervish have appeared on stages throughout the world, leaving audiences spellbound and filled with excitement resulting in the Irish band being one of the most sought after Irish acts internationally
Ireland's creative capital on The Wild Atlantic Way County Sligo, with its mountains, glens and windswept Atlantic shore, has long been the source of inspiration for Irish artistry, from the visionary works of the renowned poet W.B Yeats to the revered music of Michael Coleman. The source remains and the tradition continues, this year marking the 27th anniversary of Dervish coming together. Beginning as a group of musicians playing the local tunes of Sligo in local bars, since the mid eighties Dervish who grew up together as friends have broadened their musical vision and with it their devoted audience, which is now worldwide.
Dervish, whose members include Cathy Jordan, Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Brian Mc Donagh, Tom Morrow and Michael Holmes, have performed throughout every corner of the globe, playing for heads of state on Irish Government trade missions plus Presidential visits. From the iconic Glastonbury festival in the UK to Rock in Rio the world biggest music festival, Dervish remain a significant festival attraction around the world and have chronicled their musical journey in 12 classic CDs and two DVDs. Year after year; their CDs have topped Folk, World and Roots Music charts in Ireland establishing them as one of the all-time great traditional Irish bands. Readers of top music magazines have awarded Dervish Best Overall Irish roots act on several occasions in their 27 years and, in what is perhaps their proudest moment, Sligo City Council bestowed on them the Freedom of the city of Sligo for their contribution to region’s vibrant artistic culture. Dervish are also honoured to be joined by the legendary Irish Fiddle player Kevin Burke for part of their US tour as special guest. Kevin who played with the iconic Bothy Band in the 1970's has also good Sligo roots and is a pioneer of the Sligo style of Irish traditional music where the music of Dervish is drawn from
The band regularly perform in all parts of the globe and have just recently returned from Japan with sell out shows in some of the country's biggest venues and will soon travel to South America after this year's US tour.
Onstage, a Dervish performance ranges from powerful and energetic dance tunes to sublime interpretations of Irish songs and airs with vocals, fiddle, flute, accordion, bodhrán, mandolin and bouzouki. Interwoven with Cathy Jordan’s beguiling voice and engaging stage presence, an evening with Dervish is filled with enough warmth; conviviality and inspiration fill a lifelong memory.
Dervish recently signed a new recording deal to the legendary US label Rounder Records in Nashville which is rare in the current climate in the music industry but a tribute to the band's respect internationally. Dervish are presently working on a very exciting project ( details to be announced in the coming weeks) and it now looks as if the bands career is set to go to a new level bringing the fruits of Music City Sligo of their homeland to yet an even wider global audience