New album in the works

The Nashville Celts are taking a little time off of the road this summer in order to focus on recording their new record! The exciting new project is featuring songs composed by Ric Blair, Laura McGhee, and Patrick Martin.

The new record entitled Sons of Sailors will feature 12 songs which with the exception of two, are all originals. The obvious unique thing about The Nashville Celts is their combining of traditional Irish instruments such as Irish whistles, uilleann pipes, fiddles and bodhran along with organic American instruments such as banjo, mandolin, dobro, pedal steel, bass and drums. But, it is not only the blending of unexpected instrumentation but also their meticulous care in composing songs for the widest of audiences.

Ric Blair says, "Although my father came from Scottish roots and my mother from an Irish family, I was born and raised here in America. I grew up listening to The Beatles and American pop songs. I'm as proud of my American roots as well as my Celtic roots. So, in being true to who I am, I feel the most comfortable in creating music for the common man. I am not satisfied with trying to impress hard core traditional purists. Nothing against preserving music history as that is important too, but I gain much more satisfaction in writing a song that most people can relate to. I enjoy drawing from the past and present and creating something new. Music has the ability to ease pain and bring healing from the harshness of life and that is what I feel our job is. We also want to entertain. I love the hit songwriter's motto, "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." That is why I am excited about this new record. I feel like we have some great songs and we are excited to get them recorded so we can share them with our friends."

Ric Blair goes on to say, "I am super excited because I am not the only writer or only singer in this group. Nashville Celt Laura McGhee from Dundee, Scotland has written a really fun tune called "Golden Wedding Reel" which she originally wrote for her parent's wedding anniversary. This is a great example of the mixing it up that we are doing with the new record. Laura's tune is a real high energy trad melody, but the band created more of a funk arrangement of the tune. This has become a crowd favorite as we always close every show with it.... Also, bassist Patrick Martin wrote a song called "Vera Rose" that I believe is going to be a radio hit right out the door. Mark my word. Patrick's song reminds me of early Elvis Costello; and as Patrick says that he never thought of himself as a singer, his voice is the very thing that shines as well as the melody and lyrics."

We will keep you posted as to more developments on this fun new record!