Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes. Electric folk is a genre of music in which British and Celtic Traditional music is played in a Rock music style Celtic music is a term utilised by artists record companies music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of Musical genres that evolved out of the Folk Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of Folk music and rock music. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Celtic nations are areas of modern northwest Europe which identify themselves with the Celtic cultures specifically speakers of Celtic languages. Celtic punk is Punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. Celtic metal is a subgenre of Folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. Celtic fusion is an umbrella term for modern music which incorporates influences considered "Celtic" or Celtic music which incorporates modern music Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of Folk music and rock music. Celtic music is a term utilised by artists record companies music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of Musical genres that evolved out of the Folk The style is seen as the hybrid of traditional Irish and Scottish Gaelic music with new musical forms. ^[1] Some of the traditional instruments used in Celtic rock include the tin whistle, uilleann pipes, fiddle, bodhrán, accordion, concertina, melodeon, and bagpipes. The tin whistle, also called the tinwhistle, whistle, pennywhistle or Irish whistle, is a simple six-holed Woodwind instrument The bodhrán (ˈbɔːrɑːn or /ˈbaʊrɑːn/ plural bodhráns or bodhráin) is an Irish Frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm (10" The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox A concertina is a free-reed Musical instrument, like the various Accordions and the Harmonica. Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag ^[2] It is also noted that many American Celtic rock bands also have members that have no Irish or Scottish heritage and sing in English, not Gaelic/Irish, but also draw their influences from other musical sources. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. ^[3]

History

Celtic rock developed out of the (originally English) electric folk scene. Electric folk is a genre of music in which British and Celtic Traditional music is played in a Rock music style Prototypical Celtic rock groups include the Irish group Horslips, who in the early 1970s were possibly the first group to have the term 'Celtic Rock' applied to them. Horslips were a 1970s Irish rock band that composed arranged and performed their music based on traditional Irish Jigs and reels. Horslips displayed many elements of Celtic rock: traditional Irish/Celtic music and instrumentation, Celtic themes and imagery, concept albums based on Irish mythology all powered by driving hard rock. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" The Mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved shorn of its religious meanings Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock During the mid-1970's, other bands began to rise that include Planxty and Moving Hearts. Planxty is an Irish Folk music band formed in the 1970s consisting in its original configuration of Christy Moore (vocals acoustic guitar Moving Hearts is an Irish Folk-rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with ^[4] Other early bands who fall under the Celtic rock banner include Clannad, Five Hand Reel, Runrig and Wolfstone. Clannad are a Grammy Award -winning Irish musical group, from Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair) County Donegal. Five Hand Reel was a Scottish/English/Irish Celtic rock band of late 1970s that combined experiences of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music with electric rock arrangements Runrig is a six-piece Folk rock band from Scotland. The group was founded in 1973 and as of 2008 Runrig has released 13 Studio albums. Thin Lizzy, although generally considered mainstream rock, can also be placed in this genre, with songs like Whiskey in the Jar and Emerald. Thin Lizzy are an Irish Hard rock band who formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969 " Whiskey in the Jar " is a famous Irish traditional song about a Highwayman (usually in the Cork and Kerry mountains who 1990 to 2000s bands such as Seven Nations, The Killdares and Needfire formed American adaptations of Celtic Rock. Seven Nations is a Celtic rock band that formed in New York City, New York, in 1993. Bands such as Lordryk and Moondragon adapted Celtic rock for the English and Welsh markets as The Dreaming and Shooglenifty have drawn on Scottish influences. Moondragon is a Fictional character in Marvel Comics ' universe. The Dreaming are a Celtic Rock Group based in Scotland The group were formed in 1993 by two friends Charlie Love (vocals/guitars/mandolins and John Anderson (guitars Shooglenifty are an Edinburgh -based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally

Subgenres

Celtic rock is a subgenre of Celtic fusion, an umbrella term for any modern music which incorporates traditional Celtic influences. Celtic fusion is an umbrella term for modern music which incorporates influences considered "Celtic" or Celtic music which incorporates modern music

In the wake following punk music of the 1980s, the London based The Pogues created the subgenre Celtic punk. The Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background playing Traditional Irish music with influences from Punk rock, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane Celtic punk is Punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The Pogues' style of punked up Irish music spawned and influenced a number of Celtic punk bands, particularly in America. Prior to The Pogues, there were many others involved in the punk movement of the 1970's that included Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, The Radiators From Space, The Boomtown Rats and The Virgin Prunes. Stiff Little Fingers are a punk band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1977 The Undertones are a Northern Irish Punk rock / Power pop band formed in Derry in 1975 The Radiators From Space are an Irish Punk rock band. The band formed in 1976 in Dublin, consisting of Philip Chevron (who was later The Boomtown Rats were a new wave group led by Bob Geldof. All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland. The Virgin Prunes was an Irish Gothic rock band The band formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986 after the departure of member Gavin Friday. ^[5] Examples of more recent groups include The Young Dubliners, Jackdaw, Flogging Molly, Flatfoot 56, The Tossers and Dropkick Murphys. The Young Dubliners is an American band playing mainly Irish rock. Jackdaw is a Celtic-Rock band from Buffalo NY. One of the group's members George Tutuska, was a former drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls. Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish American Celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles California and is currently signed to SideOneDummy Flatfoot 56 is a Christian punk / Oi! band from Chicago Illinois. The Tossers are a seven-piece Celtic punk band from Chicago. They formed in the early '90s and have started to move into the spotlight recently having toured Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, U

During the 1990s, a subgenre of folk metal emerged in Ireland that fused heavy metal music with Irish and Celtic music. Folk metal is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s The pioneers of this subgenre were Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander. Cruachan is a Celtic metal band from Dublin Ireland formed in 1992 and reformed in 1999 accredited with being one of the founders of the genre - Folk Metal Primordial is a Blackened Doom Metal band formed in 1991 in Skerries, Ireland, by Pól MacAmlaigh (bass and Ciáran MacUiliam (guitars Waylander is a Northern Irish band influential in the realms of Celtic Folk metal.

English progressive rock band Mostly Autumn have a lot of Celtic influence in their music. Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Mostly Autumn are a British band producing music heavily influenced by Progressive rock, most obviously Genesis and Pink Floyd, and

Books

• "Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History" by Colin Harper (2005) covers Horslips, The Pogues, Planxty and others.
• "Irish Rock - Where It's Comes From - Where It's At - Where It's Going" by Tony Clayton-Lea (1992)
• "Green Suede Shoes" by Larry Kirwan (2005)
• "Noisy Island: A Short History Of Irish Popular Music" by Gerry Smyth
• "Beautiful Day: 40 Years Of Irish Rock" by Sean Campbell and Gerry Smyth (2005)

See also

• List of folk rock artists#Celtic rock

References

1. ^ McLaughlin, Noel and Martin McLoone "Hybridity and National Musics: The Case of Irish Rock Music" Popular Music. All of the performers listed here had or have both significant folk elements and significant rock elements in their Vol. 9, No. 2 (April, 2000) pp. 181-199
2. ^ Johnston, Thomas F. “The Social Context of Irish Folk Instruments. ” International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music Vol 26, no. 1 (Jun, 1995) pp. 35-59.
3. ^ Herman, Janet. "British Folk-Rock; Celtic Rock. " The Journal of American Folklore. Vol 107, No. 425 (Summer, 1994) pp. 54-58.
4. ^ Irish Rockers - History of Irish Rock Music
5. ^ Irish Rockers - History of Irish Rock Music

External links

• Irish Rockers
• Shite 'n' Onions
• Paddy Rock
• Musica Celta España