Brian Finnegan

Brian Finnegan
Brian Finnegan performing with Aquarium at Rock on the Volga Festival [ru] in 2013
Brian Finnegan performing with Aquarium at Rock on the Volga Festival [ru] in 2013
Background information
Born (1969-08-20) August 20, 1969 (age 55)
Armagh, Northern Ireland
GenresIrish, Celtic, World, Folk
Occupation(s)Musician, producer, composer
Instrument(s)flute, tin whistle
LabelsSinging Tree Music, Flatfish Records
Member ofFlook, Aquarium
Formerly ofUpstairs in a Tent

Brian Finnegan (born 20 August 1969) is an Irish flute and tin whistle player from Armagh.

Finnegan began playing whistle at age 8 and flute at age 10 as a student of the Armagh Pipers Club[1] under the tuition of the Vallely family. He first came to public attention with the Irish group Upstairs in a Tent.[2]

In 1993 he made a solo album When the Party's Over, which was recorded at Redesdale Studios.[3] In 1995 he formed Flook.[4]

Brian Finnegan with Boris Grebenshchikov at the Aquarium concert in Russia, 2012

Originally a three piece who toured as 'Three Nations Flutes' with Sarah Allen and Mike McGoldrick, they later added Ed Boyd on guitar forming Flook. When Mike left the band in 1997, John Joe Kelly (a frequent guest musician) was added as a band member on bodhrán. Flook continue to tour all over the world with fans across the globe. In 2006, Flook was awarded best band in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2019, the band returned from an extended hiatus with the release of their fourth studio album "Ancora".[5] Brian is a frequent tutor for Folkworks and Burwell Bash[6] where he has been a tutor since 1994.[7]

He tours regularly across the US, Latin America and Ireland with guitarist William Coulter[8] with whom he released the EP 'Toward the Sun' in 2015. He also plays with an influential Russian rock group Aquarium, both live and on their studio albums (since approximately 2009). He worked on cross genre project Parallelogram.[9]

As of 2010, Brian plays with his own trio, with guitarist Ian Stephenson and drummer Jim Goodwin. They formed a four-piece, KAN, with those musicians and fiddler Aidan O'Rourke until disbanding in 2014. A solo album, The Ravishing Genius of Bones, was released in 2010.[10] In March 2021, Brian released solo album Hunger of the Skin.[11]

In 2023, Brian released his first tune book, Timeweaver, which highlights 70 original compositions from across his 35 years career.[12]

  1. ^ "Armagh Pipers Club". armaghpipers.com. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  2. ^ Brian Finnegan Band, Armagh Pipers Club website Archived 2 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ paulmcsherry.com, Paul McSherry. "When the party's over tracklist". paulmcsherry.com. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  4. ^ Flook (band) website, flook.co.uk; accessed 17 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Flook: Ancora review – Tour de force return after decade and a half". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Burwell Bash - Folk Music Summer School, 23-28 July 2017". Burwell Bash - Folk Music Summer School.
  7. ^ "Brian Finnegan | Flute & Whistle Tutor". burwellbash. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Luck o' the Irish" Archived 2012-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Pasadena Weekly, 24 September 2009; retrieved 17 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Parallelogram". edinburghfestival.list.co.uk. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  10. ^ Brian Finnegan y Landeral, en la tercera jornada del Intercéltico (in Spanish), El Diario Montañés, 21 August 2010; retrieved 24 September 2012.
  11. ^ Whalley, Johnny (12 March 2021). "Brian Finnegan: Hunger of the Skin". Folk Radio UK. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Timewaver from Brian Finnegan". Brian Finnegan. Retrieved 8 November 2023.