Irish Celticgrass band We Banjo 3 closed out the US leg of their Roots to Rise Tour at Pace University’s Schimmel Center in New York City on Sunday (3/24) to an energetic crowd who clapped and stomped along with the four lads on, and off, the stage.
Enda and Fergal Scahill and Martin and David Howley – two sets of blood brothers but four siblings in music – had been on the road since January 22 when they kicked off their 38 city tour. A bitter-sweet finale to a tour that featured several sold-out out shows, the guys were happy to end this visit to the States in Manhattan, but not before giving back to the mental health awareness community.
Lead vocalist David Howley spoke candidly about his own battles with mental health, how lucky he is to have three brothers who support him (and does not take that for granted) and the importance of raising awareness. Hence their decision to donate $2 from every shirt sold to Mental Health America. The campaign was a huge success, as the quartet presented a check for $2,000 to Michele Hellebuyck of Mental Heath America (Howely commented that they went through 2 months of t-shirt stock in the first five shows of the tour!).
Over the two 45-minute sets, the band performed several tracks from their recent album Haven, which went to the top of the Billboard Bluegrass charts in August last year, making We Banjo 3 the first Irish band to ever do so (better yet – it returned to #1 in October). Not surprising as their Celticgrass, as they call it, is a wonderful blend of traditional Irish music and American Bluegrass with each member playing one or more of the following instruments: tenor banjo, fiddle, viola, dobro, percussion, guitar, and mandolin. The setlist also included an incredible version of Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil” and a new song called “Shine On.”
For more information on We Banjo 3, visit their website at webanjo3.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on Mental Health America, click here.
If you or someone you know has mental health concerns, Mental Health America offers screening tools here.