John Whelan’s Taisce Baile

Seven time All Irish Champion accordionist John Whelan will perform with his new band Taisce Baile (Treasured Home) in November. Joining him will be fiddler Lennart Jansson and guitarist Clint Dye.

For over 50 years John Whelan has been hailed as one of the world’s best living Irish button accordion players. Originally from England and now based on the US West Coast, John fearlessly explores the creative reaches of musical artistry, and expression while carefully preserving themusical roots from which he originally flourished, and passing those on to the next generation.

As a celebrated recording artist, John has recorded more than 15 CDs, appeared on more than 30 albums with other artists, and spent several weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard World Music Charts. John is also a sought-after composer and producer and has written more than 65 original tunes, many of which have been recorded and performed by artists all over the world. He is widely recognized for forming the John Whelan Band, and also his duo performances with Grammy Award-winning fiddle player Eileen Ivers during the first years of Riverdance.

 Guitarist Clint Dye hails from rural Pennsylvania, where he took an interest in music in his high school years. He studied music composition and jazz guitar at Bowling Green State University in Ohio before taking on professional musical work around the world. More recently, Clint has settled in the Pacific Northwest where he has been active in the Irish music scene, performing in concerts providing his tasteful backing for such artists as Randal Bays, Gráinne Hambly, and Mick O’Brien.

Lennart Jansson is an Irish traditional musician from Seattle. A multi-instrumentalist, Lennart plays fiddle, uilleann pipes, concertina, and tin whistle, and is known for championing the use of the baroque viola d’amore in Irish music. Since 2021, Lennart has shifted his focus primarily to Irish traditional music. Currently, he is a frequent performer of traditional music and a mainstay of the Irish session scene in Seattle. He has performed together on stage with fiddler Dale Russ, and has an ongoing collaboration with Ruairí Kríostóir Clements (Ockham’s Razor) as part of the contemporary Celtic band The Long Dark. His recent performance appearances include the West Coast Tionól in Seattle, the Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth, and the Acadia Festival of Traditional Music and Dance in Bar Harbor, Maine.