Beoga

Formed when an impromptu jam session held at the All-Ireland Fleadh festival turned into a wild whirlwind of high energy jigs and reels, Boega gave a shot of adrenalin to traditional Irish music when they arrived on the scene in 2002. Appropriately taking their name from the Gaelic word for 'lively', Co. Antrim lads Damian McKee, Sean Og Graham, Liam Bradley and Eamon Murray and Limerick singer and fiddle player Niamh Dunne released debut album A Lovely Madness in 2004 and soon after were described as "the most exciting traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century" by The Wall Street Journal. Absorbing jazz, blues and polkas into their Celtic dance tunes, third album The Incident was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010 and the band were given a Certificate of Congressional Achievement by the US House of Representatives. The band's instinctive understanding, boundless energy and willingness to expand beyond traditional roots was further explored on How To Tune A Fish in 2011 and Before We Change Our Mind in 2016 and they have also performed at the Last Night of the Proms with the BBC Orchestra and collaborated with singer-songwriter Ciaran Gribbin (Joe Echo).