How to go
What: Paul McKenna Band
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton
Cost: $20
Info: (937) 496-3863 or www.cityfolk.org
Any Celtic music group is likely to perform on traditional instruments such as fiddle, pipe and bodhran. But the most traditional instrument of all is the human voice, and this is where the Paul McKenna Band stands apart.
McKenna speaks softly in conversation, as if resting his enigmatic voice before the band’s next concert. On stage, his lilting tenor is rich with inflection, rising and falling, trembling with evocative vibrato, traveling a scenic route toward melody. His vocals sound genuine and personal, whether he’s singing about last night’s bottle or sailing ships of long ago.
“I’m a singer,” McKenna said. “And I’ve really got to make sure that the words are coming across clearly, even if it’s a modern arrangement of the song.”
The Paul McKenna Band closes this season’s Cityfolk Celtic series on May 6 at the Dayton Art Institute. In the 2009 Scottish Traditional Music Awards, the quintet from Glasgow was named Up and Coming Act of the Year. They have recently released their second album, “Stem the Tide,” a combination of traditional tunes and original compositions.
McKenna plays pulsating guitar while he sings, and David McNee assists on the mandolin and bouzouki. Ruairidh Macmillan plays fiddle, and Sean Gray the flute and pipe. Percussionist Ewan Baird handles bodhran and cajon.
The band’s appearance in Dayton is the first stop on a lengthy trans-Atlantic tour of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany.
“It’s going to be a busy year up until October,” McKenna said. “But the thing we all enjoy the most is to travel to the States, to Canada and places in Europe. We love every minute of it, and that’s why we do it.”
This early in his career, McKenna sees himself more as a follower than a leader in the realm of traditional Scottish music. He speaks respectfully of the established veterans from whom he learned, but hesitates to place himself in the same category.
“At the moment, I don’t feel quite qualified enough to take that responsibility,” he admits. “Maybe in twenty or thirty years’ time it’ll be easier for me.”
Adam Alonzo is a contributing writer for the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at music@adamalonzo.com.
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