There are many great musicians not represented here, with names like Lunasa and Ryan's Fancy and The Young Dubliners.
12. Orthodox Celts
These guys made it because they're from Belgrade, Serbia, and, last I heard, have never set foot in Ireland. What moxy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDTlQ9xgtGk
11. Bothy Band
Part of the "first wave" of the renaissance of Irish folk music in the 1970s. Chieftains flute maestro Matt Molloy was among them.
10. Battlefield Band
Based in Scotland, and led by Alan Reid. Their bagpiper, Los Angeles native Mike Katz, is the greatest I've ever heard.
9. Old Blind Dogs
Also from Scotland, these guys' version of "Is There For Honest Poverty" is a masterpiece.
8. Altan
Hailing from County Donegal, this band is led by outstanding vocalist Mairead Na Mhaonaigh. She can make you weep.
7. Leahy
This Canadian band of brothers and sisters is a lethal combination of fiddling and step-dancing. I never expect to see a better show in my life than the Leahy concert I saw in 2007. This YouTube clip makes me gasp when I watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJSnP2NpW8&playnext_from=TL&videos=ZBj3BybP0NE
6. Great Big Sea
This Canadian band from Newfoundland are the epitome of cool. Their exploration of Newfoundland folksongs has been a revelation to me. GBS's Alan Doyle stars as "Alan a Dale" in the upcoming 2010 movie "Robin Hood". These guys are pretty much my favorite, as I've noted in an earlier blog.
5. Dropkick Murphys
These loonies from Boston have resonated with punks and patriots everywhere :)
4. The Pogues
Led by vocalist and inebriate Shane McGowan, this Irish-English band had several of the biggest hits this genre has known, including "Fairytale of New York" in 1987.
3. The Dubliners
Long-running survivors of the 1960s folk renaissance in Ireland, these boys were led by the gravel-voiced Ronnie Drew, and were probably at their zenith when Luke Kelly sang with them. Their acappella "The Auld Triangle" is a classic (check it out on YouTube).
2. The Chieftains
Led by the indomitable Paddy Moloney, these Irish master instrumentalists have brought Celtic music to the world through their collaborations with Van Morrison, Sting, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley and others.
1. The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
Brought to prominence in the USA on The Ed Sullivan Show in the early 1960s, these folk trailblazers opened the door to a worldwide renaissance of Celtic music. Catch old performances on YouTube with Pete Seeger, and in JFK's White House.
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