Pappy with a Hatchet
Pappy with a Hatchet is an acoustic Irish-American band based out of St. Louis, MO. Featuring four regular house musicians from world-renowned Irish music bar John D. McGurk’s in St. Louis, Pappy presents a creative approach to playing traditional Irish music that incorporates a variety of influences from jazz, bluegrass, and other American musical traditions. Members are Kevin Buckley on fiddle, guitar and vocals; Ian Walsh on fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Alan Murray on guitar, bouzouki and vocals; and Dan Lowery on flute, guitar, and vocals.
Kevin Buckley
St. Louis native Kevin Buckley is a critically acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and producer. Raised playing Irish Traditional fiddle music, Buckley toured and competed nationally and internationally, earning many winning titles and establishing himself as a key proponent of Irish and acoustic folk music in America. He has also produced a large body of original work via the more electrified band, Grace Basement, gaining international notice for his songwriting and record production. More recently, Buckley performed Country and Western Swing with the award winning STAGES St. Louis production of Always…Patsy Cline. When not touring and performing as a session musician, Buckley can be found in his recording studio, Avonmore, producing a wide range of artists ranging from Irish Traditional music to dirty rock and roll.
Ian Walsh
Ian Walsh is from St. Louis, MO, and has been playing fiddle for the past 29 years. With early instruction from St. Louis teachers Greg Krone and Niall Gannon, he developed an aggressive and hard driving style, heavily influenced by such Irish fiddle masters as Martin Hayes, Tommy Peoples, and Frankie Gavin. Over the years he began playing mandolin and guitar as well, delving heavily into the American bluegrass tradition. He is highly regarded as a music teacher, and is featured in an extensive catalog of online lessons featuring both Irish and Bluegrass styles. In addition to his work with Pappy with a Hatchet, he can be found playing regularly with house band Keepin’ it Reel at John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub in St. Louis.
Alan Murray
Alan Murray hails from Glasgow in Scotland, where he was introduced to the tinwhistle at an early age. He eventually turned to the guitar as his primary instrument, and later expanded his arsenal to include the bouzouki. After studying instrument-building and repair in Glasgow, he moved to the US to further pursue his musical career. He was soon playing and recording with some of the best musicians on the New York Irish scene and was featured on 2012’s IMA-nominated Manhattan Island Sessions recording. He has taught at the Catskills Irish Arts Week and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and appeared at such well-known events as Denmark’s Tønder Festival, Milwaukee Irish Fest and Celtic Connections. He has shared the stage with such artists as Karan Casey, Niall and Cillian Vallely, Eileen Ivers and Scotland’s Battlefield Band, and has toured extensively across Ireland, Britain, Europe, Australia and the United States.
Dan Lowery
Dan Lowery is originally from Dallas, Texas and has been playing Irish music for over twenty years. After learning on the tinwhistle at a young age, he began playing the wooden flute and became heavily involved in the Dallas Irish music scene, joining local bands Idle Road, the Lone Star Ceili Band and the Trinity Hall Session Players. He soon
went on to play and compete around Ireland and the U.S., leading him to win first place at the 2001 Midwest Fleadh Cheoil. A subsequent tour with Surreel, a band of up-and-coming American Irish musicians, prompted him to move to New York City in 2002, where he played professionally for over a decade. After numerous stints playing in house bands at famed Irish music bars John D. McGurk’s and Raglan Road, he now plays and tours regularly with the Colin Farrell Band, the Bronx Boys and Pappy with a Hatchet.
