Tola Custy and Laoise Kelly

Tola Custy and Laoise Kelly play beautiful music and are old friends of ours since way back. We fondly remember many magical nights in McCarthy's Bar with legendary bands such a Calcio and The Bumbelbees. They have played at our festival many times but never together so we're thrilled to have them.

Tola Custy & Laoise Kelly first performed together at the ‘Celticimes’ music festival in France in 2013, although they have played together informally for many years before this. Since then they have performed at many festivals, including Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Soma in Co.Down and St. Patrick’s Festival in  Brittany. Both are influential musicians who have toured and recorded extensively worldwide on many pioneering musical projects and represented Ireland with the Irish President at Irish embassies abroad. 

Tola Custy comes from the well-known musical family from Toonagh, County Clare. His early influences came from legendary musicians such as Kevin Burke and Jacky Molard. Tola has created a sound of his own whilst remaining sympathetic to his native traditional music. Travel exposed him to Breton, Galician and Asturian styles to compose the spirit-tingling sounds he is renowned for. He made his acclaimed solo album ‘Setting Free’ in 1993 and went on to form influential groups Calico, The Bowhouse Quintet, Guidewires and Tradivarious. 

Laoise Kelly from Westport, Co. Mayo is regarded as the most significant harper of her generation. She has pioneered a new style of driving instrumental harping showcased in her three critically acclaimed solo albums. She has recorded on over 70 albums with the foremost artists in Irish music from The Chieftains to Kate Bush. She tours regularly with uilleann piper Tiarnan Ó Duinnchinn, Scottish gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes, and singer and accordion player Breanndán Begley. Laoise was awarded TG4 Gradam Ceoil musician of the year in 2020.

Tola and Laoise are both visiting tutors at the Irish World Academy of Music in the University of Limerick.