Top Irish musicians have united with the finest Nashville players to create the new sound and energy of The Nashville Celts. The Nashville Celts have created a unique music hybrid by incorporating Irish instrumentation ie. uilleann pipes and bodhran with 5 string banjo, mandolin, and dobro and then applying these sounds to their own original songs.
The Nashville Celts are singer/fiddler Maggie Lander, Ric Blair on vocals, guitar, piano, bodhran, Fiachra O'Regan from Connemara, Ireland on uilleann pipes/whistles/tenor banjo, and lastly Bruce Hornsby Mumford & Sons sideman Matt Menefee on 5 string banjo/mandolin/dobro and vocals.
The Nashville Celts pack concert halls around the world including The Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman Auditorium, The Lincoln Center, and Performing Arts Centers, Theaters and large Casinos across the country; including multiple appearances on WSM Radio, NPR, PBS shows like Music City Roots and The Bluegrass Underground. Later this year they are set to appear on the Woodsong's Old Time Radio Hour which also airs on PBS.
Ric Blair is the band founder but both Maggie Lander and Ric Blair are the primary songwriters in the group. Blair credits much of their success to their exposure on PBS. The group has shared the stage with Vince Gill, Cathy Jordan, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan, Ricky Skaggs, Tim O'Brien, Patty Loveless, just to name a few.