Irish Rovers

• Genre: Celtic Folk
• Hometown: Toronto
• Irish Rovers Website

About

Cynics would say Canada's Irish Rovers peddled a sort of bastardized, caricatured Irish folk to unsuspecting North American audiences. But Irish bands like the Clancy Brothers were no less theatrical; perhaps a bett! er explanation is simply that the Irish Rovers were homesick Irishmen who found themselves playing up stereotypes to willing fans while keeping their sentimental favorites alive. Whatever the case, the group shot to (brief) prominence in the mid-1960s when they sold out the famous San Francisco venue the Purple Onion for weeks on end. While their fame didn't last, the band has: they've been through multiple lineup changes through the years but continue to tour and record.

- Sarah Bardeen