Folk group, Flook, will be joined by Scottish fiddle and viola player Patsy Reid for a concert in Clifden’s Station House Theatre this Sunday, May 12. It’ s part of an 11-venue Irish tour organised by the country’s music development organisation, Music Network.

Flook is made up of Brian Finnegan on whistles and flute, Sarah Allen on flutes and piano accordion, Ed Boyd on guitar, and John Joe Kelly on bodhrán. They’ve expanded their line-up for this tour, inviting Patsy Reid to bring her creativity to the mix.

Flook take inspiration from their roots in the Irish and English traditions to create a unique sound in which flutes feature large, underpinned by Ed Boyd’s superb guitar playing and John Joe Kelly’s extraordinary bodhrán skills.

The four blend fiery technical brilliance with delicate interactions and a sense of musical adventure, all of which makes them hugely popular on the live music circuit.

Formed in 1995 in Manchester, the original Flook line-up was Armagh’s Brian Finnegan, Londoner Sarah Allen, and Manchester piper and flute player Mike McGoldrick, with Ed Boyd, also from Manchester, coming on board shortly afterwards. When Mike McGoldrick left in 1998 to pursue other projects, John Joe Kelly, another veteran of the Manchester-Irish music scene and a regular guest with the group, came on board fulltime.

Flook released their third studio album, Haven, in 2005 and won Best Band at the 2006 BBC Folk Awards, but disbanded in 2008, regrouping in 2013. However, it would be another six years before they released another album,

That was, Ancora, released in 2019 to critical acclaim and nominated for BBC Folk Album of the Year.

For their Clifden show, they will be joined by Patsy Reid, one of the UK’s most distinctive and admired fiddle players whose range encompasses classical and traditional. She has performed alongside a broad mix of artists that includes Kylie Minogue, Kathryn Tickell, Michael McGoldrick, and Julie Fowlis.

A multi-instrumentalist, she has played violin, viola and cello on albums by Zakir Hussain, Donald Shaw, Flook, Brian Finnegan and many more.  As well as being an accomplished performer, Patsy also teaches music in her native Scotland.

The current Flook tour takes in venues in Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Laois, Louth, Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo as well as Clifden, where the show is on this Sunday, at 8pm

Tickets will be on sale at the theatre door.

More information on the tour is available on the Music Network website, www.musicnetwork.ie.

Pictured: Flook are currently on a tour of Ireland.