KIERAN HALPIN is a successful songwriter with many of his songs recorded by other artists and performed in clubs, pubs and concert halls throughout the world. Kieran's albums are eagerly awaited by fans and media alike and never fail to generate superlatives. Whilst a Kieran Halpin album is always something to look forward to, few will argue that it is live on stage where Kieran really makes his mark. Passionate, powerful, intimate and intense, he is impossible to ignore.

Kieran Halpin was born in the Republic of Ireland and raised in Collon (approximate population: 150). His first guitar was a Spanish nylon strung, costing £17. That same evening he wrote his first song. At the age of 18, Kieran went "on the road" to Dublin, 35 miles south of Collon. He shared a flat in Rathmines, started going to the two "dry" clubs that then existed, The Universal and The Coffee Kitchen, where you could play and hear musicians of every style and standard, including more famously Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Andy Irvine and many more.

Kieran teamed up with Pat Armstrong to form a duo called "Stained Glass Window" before joining Paul Ward and winning The Letterkenny Song Festival in 1974. They spent the £200 prize money on travelling to Wembley Stadium in London to see Joni Mitchel and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

In 1975, Kieran went to Leeds in West Yorkshire to stay with a friend who introduced him to the then thriving folk scene, where he met musicians like Gordon Tyrell and Jon Strong. He started hitchhiking around England, doing floor spots in folk clubs all over the country and picking up work bookings for later that year. He went to Holland in 1976 with Jon Strong and started getting work in both Holland and Germany.

Kieran was living in Amsterdam from 1975-78, doing duo tours with Jon and solo tours of the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. He also did extensive travelling and performing in Germany with Philly Ross - harmonica player/singer from Ardee in Ireland. At the end of 1978 Kieran teamed up with Geordie fiddler/singer Tom McConville, already very well known and respected in the British folk world. They recorded "Port of Call" in Walsend, Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1979 to much noteworthy critical and commercial success.

Kieran spent the next four years touring with Tom throughout Europe, with one visit to Canada. In 1981 they recorded "The Streets of Everywhere" in Temple, just outside of Edinburgh, and rounded off their year with an appearance at The Cambridge Folk Festival. At the end of 1982 Tom and Kieran split up and Kieran moved back to Dublin. In the next ten years, 1983-93, Kieran recorded six solo albums.

All this time Kieran continued to tour extensively in Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe. In 1993 Kieran moved to Edinburgh and to this day resides in Scotland. In 1995 he recorded "Glory Dayz" with the outstanding Chris Jones on guitar. A live recording of 16 concerts from Trondheim in Norway to Zurich in Switzerland, it featured previously released tracks as well as new songs. 1997 saw the release of "Closing Time in Paradise", Kieran's first duo album in 16 years.

In 1998 Kieran recorded and released "Solo" and then spent the following year touring all over Britain, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Austria and Ireland. In 1999 he released a CD called "Jangle" and then in 2000 released his first songbook called "Songbook One" which contains 50 of Kieran's most requested songs from throughout his career. Last year, Kieran once again teamed up with guitarist Chris Jones for a couple of tours of Europe and the U.K. which resulted in a live recording called "Moving Air". Then, towards the end of the year, he released "Bootleg 79-85: The Missing Songs" which contains 10 never before heard versions of old favorites from his early years.

KIERAN HALPIN has managed to marry his intelligent and sometimes thought provoking lyrics with great melodies and his now trademark acoustic guitar sound. All of this is underlined by a surprising wit and humor in his introductions. Sometimes sardonic, sometimes sarcastic, Kieran believes this helps an audience understand where his songs are coming from and hopefully hint at where they might go. A unique writer and performer, his work is as individual as Van Morrison (to whom he is frequently compared), Joni Mitchell, Paul Brady or John Martyn.

Our May 3rd house concert with Kieran Halpin was a great success! Kieran's house concert here was passionate, powerful, intimate and intense. His stories of his travels were fascinating and often very humorous. Kieran came here from his current home in Scotland by way of Brunai, Australia and New Zealand as he continues his "30 Years on the Road" tour. We were glad to have another full house and we know that all of you who were here had a wonderful time. Thank you, Kieran, for a wonderful evening! Please be sure to visit Kieran Halpin's website at www.kieranhalpin.com where you can see his tour schedule and order his many wonderful CDs.