The McKrells

$25 general admission. Tickets available at the Strand Box Office (cash or check only) or online.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with The McKrells!

Kevin McKrell pioneered American Celtic music beginning in 1979 with the band Donnybrook Fair. The original trio included Jeff Strange and David McDonnell; McKrell's 1982 album Tunnel Tigers remains a landmark of the form with its blend of Clancy Brothers swagger and upstate NY attitude. Donnybrook toured throughout the U.S. and Ireland, performing in classic Irish folk rooms such as McAfferty's Red Hand (St. Paul, MN), The Patriot Game (San Diego), The Irish Village (Chicago), O'Donaghue's, The Blarney Stone (Pittsburgh), The Embankment (Tallaght, Co. Dublin), and The Parting Glass (Saratoga Springs, NY).

In 1998, McKrell — who has four 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. McKrell, a respected portrait painter, is best known for his indelible songs — classics like 'Donegal', 'You and Me', 'I Miss the Rain' and the eternal 'All of The Hard Days Are Gone' — which have been sung and recorded by artists including The Kingston Trio; from Ireland: The Furey Brothers, Seamus Kennedy, The Druids, The Dublin City Ramblers; from Scotland: North Sea Gas; from Australia: Pat McKernan; and many U.S. artists such as Bob Shane, Hair of the Dog, Wood’s Tea Company, Get Up Jack, and many more.

Kevin and his bands have performed at top Celtic, folk, and bluegrass festivals and venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Troy Music Hall, Caffé Lena, Berklee Performance Hall, Proctors Theater, The Sellersville Theater, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, The Egg, North Texas Irish Festival, The Landmark Theater Syracuse, Milwaukee Irish Festival, Celtic Classic, The Great American Irish Festival, MusikFest, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival.

Band members:

• Kevin McKrell — Founder and songwriter with a long career in American Celtic and bluegrass music.

• Arlin Greene — Bass. Arlin has toured the world with the likes of The McKrells, Bill Keith, Dan Tyminski, James "D Train" Williams, Bolton, Nolan and Greene, Big Medicine, George Fletchers, Folding Money, and The Trophy Husbands.

• Peter Pashoukos — Lead guitar. A mainstay in the Saratoga and Capital Region music community for over 20 years, an original member of Garland Nelson’s Soul Session, half of the award-winning acoustic duo The Tequila Mockingbirds, and a frequent "hired gun." He has performed at the Tulip Festival, The Egg, Caffé Lena, The Linda Norris Auditorium, and The Universal Preservation Hall. Peter draws inspiration from many genres (soul to bluegrass) and also performs on ukulele at festivals, including the Flower City Ukulele Festival and the Aloha Ukulele Festival in Seoul. Awards: The Tequila Mockingbirds “Best Acoustic Duo” in Metroland magazine (2007–2008); Best Jazz Group 2007 Times Union “Best of the Capital Region” reader’s poll.

• Brian Melick — Percussion. Professionally involved in music for over 42 years, featured on over 400 releases. Brian has four releases under his own name (Percussive Voices, uduboy, Diverse Elements, In Motion); the first three have also been released as sound libraries used by networks and motion picture organizations. As an educator he has developed participatory percussion programs, authored "The How To of Udu" and "Percussion Instruments Made Out of Found Objects," and produced supporting audio and DVD materials. The DVD for "The How To of Udu" is available through Alfred Publishing. He has authored a 15-week curriculum titled "Playing with Percussion," holds several U.S. patents for custom percussion stands, and built a Lego Drum Set featured in Modern Drummer and the permanent collection of the Percussive Arts Society's Rhythm! Discovery Center. Visit Brian online at www.uduboy.com and https://www.facebook.com/brian.melick.5

• Frank Orsini — Fiddle, viola, mandolin, and guitar. A prominent acoustic musician on the Upstate New York scene, Frank has been a member of many established groups and a frequent freelance player on countless live performances and recording projects. His repertoire spans Elizabethan and early music, Celtic sources, old-time fiddle tunes, New England and Canadian dance tunes, bluegrass, country classics, Cajun, blues, ethnic selections, and urban and western swing standards.

• Scott Hopkins — Banjo (also tubist). Scott became interested in bluegrass and banjo by listening to Flatt & Scruggs and The Stanley Brothers. He studied tuba and earned a B.M. in music education from Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam) and an M.M. in music education from the University of Connecticut. He won the Crane Concerto Competition on tuba in 1995. Scott released an acclaimed solo banjo recording in 2013 and currently teaches 5–12 band at Duanesburg Central School District, performs with the Upstate Bluegrass Band at the Saratoga Race Track, teaches Wernick Method Bluegrass Jam Camps and at Music Camps North, conducts the Empire State Youth Orchestra's Concertino Brass Ensemble, and maintains a private banjo studio. Scott became a member of The McKrells in 2021 and performs alongside Kevin, Arlin, Frank, Peter, and Brian.