Event Description:
Forged out of the traditional music scenes of Scotland and Ireland - yet influenced by the sounds of the Balkans, North America and far beyond - Dallahan have spent over a decade guiding audiences through a musical world tour of their own making. Their dazzling live shows, marked by restless creativity and stunning virtuosity, have come to be defined by its refusal to sit still. Guitarist and singer Jack Badcock, banjo player Ciaran Ryan, accordionist Andrew Waite and fiddler Benedict Morris form the band that has evolved continuously while somehow remaining rooted in the traditions that first brought them together.
From the moment their debut album When The Day Is On The Turn arrived in 2014 - hailed by fRoots as “the most exciting Irish music I’ve heard in a long time… Lunasa for the new generation” - Dallahan quickly found themselves propelled onto the international stage. Extensive touring across Europe and North America followed, with appearances at major festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest (USA), Festival de Ortiguiera (ESP) Celtic Connections (SCO), Tønder Festival (DK), Festival Dranouter (BE), Woodford Folk Festival (AUS), and many more.
In their first year, the band received the Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK, while their debut was shortlisted for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Their 2016 follow-up, Matter Of Time, took them even further afield: 103 performances across the globe that year alone, including a trip to Nepal for the British/Nepalese bicentenary celebrations on behalf of the British Council. Again shortlisted for Album of the Year, Dallahan also earned Instrumental Cut of the Year at the LiveIreland Awards (USA).
The journey continued with their third album, Smallworld (2019), their first release on European label Westpark Records. Critically acclaimed and shortlisted in the Folk category of the German Music Critics Choice Awards, it marked a new chapter in the band’s expanding international identity.
Along the way, Dallahan have brought their music to 25 countries, earned five nominations for Folk Band of the Year (2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025), and undertaken notable collaborations -from performing with songwriting legend Dougie MacLean, to composing and appearing with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at a WWI commemorative concert, to collaborating on stage in Kathmandu with Nepali folk innovators Kutumba.
Now, with well over a decade together, Dallahan stand as a veteran touring outfit whose sound has matured without ever losing its exploratory spark. Their worldwide cult following -built slowly, show by show, across several continents - reflects a band that has grown into its own identity while continually pushing its boundaries. Their latest studio album, Speak of the Devil (June 2023), captures this ongoing evolution: seasoned, adventurous, and unmistakably Dallahan.
* Event details accurate at the time of publishing; please check the organiser's website for the latest updates.
Event Location:
The Stables, Milton Keynes
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