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Celtic chorus: Brogue Rogues offer Irish music year-round
St. Patrick's Day Concerts
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By Josette Keelor - jkeelor@nvdaily.com
BERRYVILLE -- As St. Patrick's Day approaches, Irish music will sound from hill to dale. For the Brogue Rogues, of Berryville, it's another opportunity to play the music they love.
"I started playing Irish music in the early to mid-'90s," says Jim "JimBuck" Buckner, who plays the bodhran, or Irish drum, and hammered dulcimer for the trio.
John Friant, on violin, and Keith Adams, on guitar, share in his devotion to the music.
"I was fascinated by this type of music," says Friant. Introduced to it as a member of a rock band in Charlottesville, Friant was soon learning to play the violin, the mandolin and the dulcimer, in addition to guitar.
"We call ourselves a Celtic band," he says, explaining that throughout the rest of the year they focus a lot on folk music that hails from other nations. "There are some good English and Scottish drinking songs."
Their specialty is Irish music, and when the Brogue Rogues first began, they focused mainly on the days surrounding St. Patrick's Day. Then they realized that the music is pretty popular around the area.
"What we discovered is we've been getting work year-round," says Friant. "It's not just St. Patrick's Day anymore, it's year-round."
What is so appealing about Irish ditties that draws fans out of the woodwork like leprechauns to gold?
"It has a certain soulful quality to it that's appealing," Friant says. "It's got a certain kind of lilting quality to it."
Indeed, the Brogue Rogues seem positively gleeful as they describe the music, often hurrying back to their instruments to strike up another chorus. Friant and Buckner formed the band with a third member several years ago, running with the name that Buckner's brother suggested.
"Brogue is an Irish accent," Buckner says.
Adams joined in 2003.
Though they each have day jobs, their down time is all about the music.
Besides participating in the Brogue Rogues year-round, all three are members of other bands as well. Adams, an insurance agent in Leesburg, plays guitar in the blues rock band Blues on the Side; Buckner, a counselor for the Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation/Substance Abuse Services in Loudoun County, and Friant, a lawyer in Berryville, are members of Rogues Gallery, a country/bluegrass band, in Berryville. Friant also plays bass in a jazz trio called GKTrio and the jazz quartet Hot Club Millwood.
They laugh now, marveling at how three people who live within a mile of each other in Clarke County all happen to love playing Celtic music.
Because it's so popular with fans, the band plays mostly Irish music, but they also mix in folk music, bluegrass and even some country.
"There's a lot of contemporary Irish, contemporary folk Irish that's really good," Buckner says, "but we'll stick with more traditional."
Adams and Buckner have also written some music for the band.
"The vast majority is traditional Irish stuff," says Friant.
The men attribute their recent success in the area to the rise in vineyards around the valley. They noticed that people who visit wineries and vineyards enjoy being able to listen to music while also chatting with friends and family. Celtic music allows for that perfect atmosphere, they say.
"The proprietors like to have live music so it's a real boon for us," says Friant.
Restaurants, too, offer the ambiance that suits the Brogue Rogues, and they have had so much business as of late, "We haven't really tapped into the strictly Irish restaurants [yet]," Buckner says.
Irish or not, the venues love them.
"The last couple years, we've had work around the clock," Adams says.
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