Frankie Gavin with Matt Mulqueen in Concert at the Lyceum

Frankie Gavin – fiddle, flute and whistle

Frankie Gavin was born into a musical family in Corrandulla, Co Galway in 1956. His parents and siblings all played music and Frankie was inspired by hearing musicians who visited the family pub. From the age of four, he played the tin whistle but a love of the music soon prompted him to start playing the flute and the violin. At the age of 17, he won the All-Ireland Under-18 Fiddle and Flute competitions. In the 1970s, when traditional Irish music was becoming a force to be reckoned with worldwide, Frankie decided that playing music, rather than following a conventional career was how he wanted to spend his life. It was then that he met guitarist and bouzouki player Alec Finn, and after just a few sessions playing together, they formed De Dannan, a band which toured world until the late 1990s. The original band split up in the early 2000s, but a few years later, Frankie formed Frankie Gavin and De Dannan, a band which continues to this day. Line-ups have changed but the quality of the music has remained world class. Most recently, he has formed a duo with pianist Catherine Mc Hugh and together they have toured Ireland and The USA promoting their 2022 recording Port Eireann. Frankie has also had a glittering solo career playing with some of the world’s greats, including Stephane Grappelli, James Galway, Yehudi Menuhin and The Rolling Stones. He has also played for four American presidents: John F. Kennedy, as a child, then later for Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama.  He has also performed for the UK’s Prince (now King Charles) and Prince Albert of Monaco. In this connection Frankie Gavin and Carl Hession composed The Princess Grace Symphonic Suite, a piece for orchestra which was performed recently in Monaco by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo.

Matt Mulqueen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, into a musical family. His older brothers played button accordion and fiddle, and his sister became a champion step-dancer. This environment instilled in Matt an irresistible desire to learn and play Irish traditional music. His first music instruction came in the second grade when he joined the boys choir at his elementary school. At age nine, Matt asked his parents if he could learn to play the piano. He began with group piano lessons at a local community college. From there, he progressed to private lessons in Irish and Classical music with Donna Long, who has been the greatest influence on Matt's playing. Listening to the host of traditional musicians who haunt Irish pubs and to innumerable recordings allowed Matt to forge his own compelling style of accompanying Irish music. Matt returns to the Lyceum, having performed with Lexi Boatright and Cara Wildman in 2022.
 

Doors open at 6:30 PM

Concert at 7:00 PM

Light Refreshments Served with beer and wine available for purchase.

Frankie and Friends Live Shows

The Tradtional Music Series