WILLIAMSBURG — Irish band Solas is celebrating 30 years together as it embarks on an anniversary tour that will see the group make a stop in Williamsburg March 9.
Solas, which was formed in 1995, plays mostly traditional Irish music in addition to original compositions that are influenced by country, rock, and Americana genres. Seamus Egan, an Irish champion flutist, founded the band and the name Solas comes from the Irish word which means light. Following years of success and multiple albums, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in 2017.
Now back for its 30th anniversary, Egan and the members of Solas are celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the band with a tour.
“In our case, the band started in New York, and we never really had a plan for it. It kind of came together in a very haphazard way. Our expectations were kind of at zero. We knew we enjoyed playing together, we did a few shows, and we made that first album and it was a really positive reaction to it. We’ve benefited from being in the right place at the right time and things just sort of took off for the band. For us to have started with no expectation, having the opportunity to do this 30 years later, we all feel just so incredibly fortunate,” Egan said.
Egan is back as a member of the band on flute, tenor banjo, nylon guitar, whistles, and mandolin, and will be joined by John Williams on button accordion and concertina, Alan Murray on guitar, bouzouki, and vocals, Winifred Horan on fiddle, and Nuala Kennedy on vocals and flute.
Solas will entertain a Williamsburg audience March 9 with a combination of songs fans know and love, as well as some things that have yet to be heard.
Along with the tour, Solas is releasing a live album that will only be available to concert-goers. The live album is a combination of four shows from over the years that took place in Scotland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
“When we were on our hiatus, I would get emails from fans with files of live shows that we had done over the years. At some point, I just started to listen through all of them and it was a nice journey down memory lane just for myself to listen to it. I thought it might be an interesting thing for long-time fans to have. We decided to make it an even more special kind of thing to just have it available at the shows,” Egan said.
The concert is part of the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church’s Open Door Concert Series.
“Virginia has been a place that has been very welcoming to the band over the course of our 30-year career. We’ve played all over the state, so to come back for our 30th anniversary tour and our eight-year hiatus, we’re really looking forward to getting back to the Williamsburg area,” Egan said.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information on the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church’s Open Door concert series, visit the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church website.