Sligo Rags
From neighbourhood pubs to outdoor festivals, house parties to concert halls, Michael Kelly, David
Burns, Gordon Rustvold and Eric Hartwell, aka the Sligo
Rags, have been performing regularly throughout
the Southland for the past two years. While the Rags stay true to the original intent of the traditional
tunes they play, they are not afraid to be innovative. The addition of bluegrass-style flat-picking
and world music rhythms to these time-honored songs creates a unique brand of Irish music that
these bandmates are eager to share with . . . well, anyone who will listen.
It is fiddle player Kelly who can be credited with bringing this versatile group together. In 2002, after learning several Irish songs with another group, Kelly fell in love with the music and decided to put together his own band. After seeing Burns and Rustvold performing at separate shows, Kelly convinced them that a combined effort was worth a shot.
Kelly, Burns and Rustvold remained a trio for the first three years. They had considered adding
a drummer several times and had even auditioned a few, but the fit was never right. They relied
on Rustvold’s thumping bass lines to provide the rhythm and had no plans to add a fourth
player until they received an ultimatum from a club owner - get a drummer or play somewhere else!
Enter Eric Hartwell, a graduate of the Cal Arts music program who had spent the last two years
studying world music and learning to play a vast array of percussion instruments.
Since the birth of their signature sound, the Sligo Rags have been building their fan base by playing shows as often as possible. They have recorded two full-length CDs, 'The Night Before the Morning After' and the recently released, 'The Whiskey Never Lies' and are the two-time winners of the Orange County Music Award for Best Folk Band. But as each band member will attest, it takes a lot of work to be a successful indie band. From booking gigs to selling CDs, the Rags run an entirely independent operation.
But all four bandmates agree that despite the hard work, the long days and even longer nights,
there’s nothing else they’d rather be doing or any other music they’d rather
be playing.
In and Around Aberfeldy
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