Kevin McKrell: Final St Patrick's Concert

Kevin McKrell's Final Saint Patrick's Concert

Somewhere tonight, across the country or across the sea, a singer, sitting on a stool on a pub's corner stage, is belting out a Kevin McKrell song, and the crowd is singing along.

McKrell pioneered American Celtic music beginning in 1979 with Donnybrook Fair. The original trio's 1982 album Tunnel Tigers remains a landmark of the form, with its blend of Clancy Brothers swagger and upstate NY attitude.

In 1998, McKrell—who has five solo albums to his credit—formed a powerhouse band under his own name, merging the Irish sensibility of Donnybrook with a steely, world-class bluegrass edge. The McKrells toured harder than Donnybrook, bringing its music, with McKrell's lusty vocals supported by hot string band picking, to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and festivals and concert venues around the country.