Celtic Music to pep up your St. Patrick’s Day weekend!

On NR92 we live by our motto “Something Worth Sharing”, and through that, we love to showcase new music that deserves its time in the spotlight. Now I’ve always been a fan of film scores. After all, I host a weekly show on the subject that should be a given. But when it comes to music in general, one genre that I’ve always gravitated toward (and being of Celtic descent myself)…I’ve always had love for Celtic-style music!

Celtic music is a genre that, while it directly ties into a specific cultural sound, probably has a wider reach across music than people think. It’s a genre that delivers catchy beats, soulful and harmonic vocals and instruments, and in terms of mood it goes all over from exciting parties to sombre ballads. So in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, a time of year where some good Celtic and Celtic-style music definitely warrants playing, here are a few unique and excellent tracks selected by yours truly showcasing the wide berth of the genre by selected groups.

“The Auld Triangle” by Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphy’s are probably the most iconic group in the field of celtic-influenced rock, first forming out of Quincy, Massachusetts and bandmates of Irish descent. Led with pulse-pounding beats and hard rocking guitar born out of punk, Dropkick Murphys’ music is also finely spiced with a variety of traditional Celtic instruments including mandolin, violin, tin whistle and of course bagpipes galore.

With energetic live shows, traditionally every St. Patrick Day, with as much electricity as their music jolts through you, there are many of their hits to choose from. From “Shipping it up to Boston” which was featured in Martin Scorsese’s Academy award winning film The Departed, or their tribute to boxing legend Micky Ward with “The Warrior’s Code”. But for this selection, here’s a traditional ballad sung with all the sorrow of an Irish dirge but somehow almost celebratory.

“Mists of Crofton” – Spirit of the West

Coming home to Canada, and hailing from North Vancouver, we’ve got Spirit of the West. Forming in 1983, and developing a sound from a folk trio to an alternative rock blending Britpop, hard rock and Celtic folk, with a strong Canadian identity to boot they grew into one of Canada’s most successful alternative rock groups in the 90s. With songs that utilize folk guitar, drum beats, Celtic flute and harmonious vocals combined with poetically-charged lyrics. With these elements, they were a band with a voice rock had never heard before as heard from such hits such as “Home For A Rest” or “Political“.

While officially retired as of 2016, cemented in 2019 with the passing of bandmates including lead singer John Mann, Spit of the West holds a huge fan-following and their sound is still celebrated today. With many acts from Canada’s Celtic rock/folk groups citing them as an influence and embodying them today, it seems fitting to bring one of their lesser known hits to the front that demonstrated their unique voice. So what better one than this underrated gem from their 1986 album, Trippin’ up the Stairs, “Mists of Crofton”.

“The Night Paddy Murphy Died” by Great Big Sea

Still sticking around Canada but heading to the east, we’ve got Great Big Sea hailing from Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally headed by Alan Doyle, Great Big Sea became one of Canada’s leading folk rock groups with their energetic performances of traditional Newfoundland folk tunes drawing from centuries of Celtic heritage.

Whether it was their debut with a cover of “Run Run Away” or the fast increasing song “Mary Mac”, Great Big Sea always has an excellent song from their catalogue to get that Celtic spirit pumping. But probably one of the best for this list’s purposes is this humorous and jaunty tune inspired by a party that might have gone a bit too far.

“When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down)” by Oysterband

Going over to England, another group who also shaped the way that the  Celtic-style was explored in music, inspired from the post-punk era was Oysterband. Starting in 1976 as a dance band, a genre of music which specialized in jazz-infused tunes for ballrooms and dance-halls, the “Oyster Ceilidh Band” as they were originally known changed their sound (as well as its line-up) when it began merging with a parallel group they formed known as Fiddler’s Dram.

With more of the Celtic-influenced folk music of Fiddler’s Dram merging with the dance-hall style, as well as rising in the anarcho-punk movement where the more chaotic music you had the better, Oysterband grew to become a celebrated group in the folk-rock scene alongside groups such as Levellers and Chumbawamba. And through this movement many hits were had with the chaotic “Blood Wedding” and their hard-edged take on classic folk-song “Bells of Rhymney”. But probably their best-known song was a tune that people probably know more from the cover made by Great Big Sea. But while GBS made “When I’m Up” a hit, we owe our thanks to this folk-punk group for starting it.

The Foggy Dew – The Chieftains with Sinead O’Connor

Now while Celtic music will always have its fun songs, where it can truly shine as well, is in its epic ballads that stem strongly from old tradition and instrumentation. And in this style, no group delivers this any better than The Chieftains. Covering old folk ballads since 1962, and collaborating with many artists over decades including Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, The Pogues, Luciano Pavarotti and even Ziggy Marley, they’ve turned out truly amazing work. But a crowning achievement to their catalogue would be this tragic ballad, chronicling the Easter Rising of 1916, by them and the late Sinead O’Connor.

The Chieftains deliver this song with the gravitas and respect that it deserves with their use of fife, drum and more, but Sinead O’Connor mournful wails of power with her amazing voice is what really pushes this song. A ballad that tells a tale of struggle and tragedy, but also a sombre celebration of bravery in the face of such struggle. Much can be said about Celtic music but when you have a genre that between songs offer joy and celebration but also epic ballads with others, you know it’s something truly special.

In Conclusion

Celtic music will always have a place in music, its influence still present in many genres of music to this day.  Whether it’s pop music or even harder genres such as metal, many artists are striving to keep this genre alive. So this St. Patrick’s day, seek out and tune in to some other great Celtic work to add to the celebration because a genre like that has it way of elevating the celebration in more ways than one.

What are some of your favourite Celtic inspired tunes, let me know down below. And for more excellent St. Patrick Day tunes among my personal choices, check out this playlist!

And if you’re hungry for even more great tunes, follow me on Spotify for all my regular playlists, as well as my official lists for episodes of my weekly show, The Score-Board! every Wednesday at 7pm (including tracks that don’t make it to air!)

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