ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
Culann's Hounds
The Hooks
(CD Release!)
(co-headlining)
The Gasmen

Name a musical act after one of the great warriors of Irish legend, and you'd better be prepared to crank out some energetic, larger-than-life performances.

That's precisely why Culann's Hounds has been a favorite on the San Francisco scene for six years—and is now bringing their self-described punk-Irish-hoedown sensibility to a larger audience. The melodies of Steve Gardner (fiddle) and Renee de la Prade (button accordion); harmonies of Mike Kelleher (guitar); and rhythm of Scott Marshall's bodhran meld with rich vocals that are a staple of the Irish tradition.

The Hounds connect with their audience because they are as adept with traditional arrangements as they are with bringing their eclectic artistic backgrounds to an original brand of Irish-inspired music.

The band boasts an impressive musical pedigree: Gardner played Red Rocks with Grammy winning favorites Blues Traveler; and wows crowds with his work on fiddle, guitar, mandolin and vocals. Kelleher's ability to connect with and uplift a crowd with raucous humor and hard driving songs is a key; Marshall's years drumming for punk band The Nuns gives him the straight ahead power that he harnesses on the bodhrán (and instrument he learned at the beginning of his stint with the Hounds); and de la Prade the Berklee graduate (barely, she says) started her love affair with the Cairdin Irish button box backstage at a Pogues show.

The Hooks are one of the most exciting bands in San Francisco at the moment. After regularly packing out gigs in their native Sligo, The Hooks are now building their fan base in the states using San Francisco as headquarters. Keith and Ronan Mulligan started the band in 2002 and found almost immediate success in the from of high profile contest wins and an opening slot on a Shane MacGowan & The Popes tour before making the life changing decision to come to the states. After landing in The City the boys called a phone number they recieved from a friend back home. The number belonged to Colin Delaney, a drummer from SF who brought with him fellow native San Franciscan Willie Dills. Now with the line-up complete The Hooks went back to the task at hand, taking over the world.

The Gasmen have played to audiences in Ireland , Cuba , Argentina , and the Bay Area for 15 years.  Natives of Ireland , they have supported Irish traditional music in sessions around San Francisco since their individual immigrations, helping local players get the true heart of the tradition.