"The music is what it's all about. I grew up playing all kinds of music, gigging every weekend in rock bands starting when I was about 13 years old, then blues bands, folk bands, classical guitar, some country, you name it. When I was in my twenties I hit some bad times and kind of stalled out, didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I hated phony music and phony musicians and the world seemed full of them. That's when I heard Irish fiddle music for the first time, and it went right to my soul."

Randal Bays and Davey Mathias

It's hard to imagine a better guitarist partner for the kind of music I do than Davey Mathias. His great musicianship and versatility give me the chance to play a wide repertoire of Irish music with all the life and lift it should have.

Davey comes from a musical family in South Carolina, where he teaches guitar and banjo, and plays with the group Corner House. He plays in the DADGAD tuning and is an excellent teacher.

Here's a recent video of the two of us.

 

Solo concerts - Performing on my own, without accompaniment of any kind, is an exhilarating experience. Traditionally, this would be the form in which the music was most often heard, and it's a challenge to bring the tunes to life with no one else to lean on. I usually include some fingerstyle guitar solos and a fair amount of tune lore in a solo concert, to keep the listeners' attention and give the music some context. I'm a champion of the old/new idea of house concerts, a perfect setting for this kind of intimate music.

Click here for more information on house concerts.

For tour dates, photos, booking information, etc. visit the Fingal website at www.fingalmusic.com