John Doyle

John Doyle’s gifts as a guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, and producer have played an essential role in the ongoing renaissance of Irish traditional music. As a member of Irish-American supergroup Solas – and a highly sought-after session player – Doyle pioneered a rhythmic, sophisticated approach to Irish guitar accompaniment, setting a new standard for the instrument. When the original members of Solas parted ways, Doyle embarked on a solo career, producing albums for other artists and touring as a sideman as well as recording his own material. Preserving the tasteful simplicity of tradition, Doyle nonetheless adds a contemporary edge, finding fresh life in even the most well-worn of tunes. His playing encompasses hard-driving strumming, inventive chord voicings, precise single-note runs, and powerful rhythmic effects borrowed from traditional instruments such as the bodhran and fiddle.

Wayward Son, Doyle’s second solo release, showcases the guitarist’s genius for arrangement. While the material is primarily traditional, the record is sprinkled with Doyle originals, which prove difficult to pick out from the time-tested numbers that precede and follow them. Three sets of tunes balance the primarily vocal album, and the traditional American murder ballad Little Sadie pays homage to Doyle’s chosen home of Asheville, North Carolina, adding a New World presence to the collection of Old World melodies. Musicians include Doyle’s former Solas bandmates Seamus Egan and John Williams as well as Alison Brown, John R. Burr, Liz Carroll, Stuart Duncan, Kenny Malone, John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Tim O’Brien, Kate Rusby, Danny Thompson, Linda Thompson, and Garry West. The album will be released this July on Compass Records.

Born in 1971 in Dublin to a family of musicians and singers, John Doyle was surrounded by traditional music from his earliest years. His father Sean is a remarkable singer and collector of songs, with a vast repertoire of traditional ballads committed to memory. Tommy Doyle, John’s Co. Sligo grandfather, taught him his first instrumental tunes. Two of his three brothers are musicians, as are various uncles, cousins, and other family members. John was playing professionally by the age of 16, and soon moved to New York City, where he began playing with Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan. He first rose to international prominence with Solas (Gaelic for “light”), the all-star Irish/American band whose emergence heralded the arrival of a new generation of bold, inventive traditional musicians. The mighty original Solas lineup of Doyle, John Williams (accordion), Winifred Horan (fiddle), Karan Casey (vocals), and Seamus Egan (banjo, flutes, pipes) recorded four immensely influential albums before splitting. Doyle’s playing was both the harmonic and rhythmic foundation of Solas¹ relentlessly high-energy sound, while he also contributed vocal harmonies and delicate, emotional finger-style guitar work.

Now an accomplished producer as well, Doyle has worked with such artists as Liz Carroll and Heidi Talbot. While with Solas, the guitarist also shared stages and studios with Frank McCourt, Linda Thompson, Kate Rusby, Mick Moloney, Brian Conway, Joannie Madden, James Keane, Karan Casey, and Cathie Ryan. He continues to innovate, finding the seeds of his contemporary approach within the tradition itself.