Irish
New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois
Photo courtesy of artist
Reverie Road is a powerhouse group contributing fresh ideas and boundless energy to Irish music—looking “beyond the horizon of the tradition," according to The Irish Echo. Band members bring a lifetime of experience from legendary groups such as Solas, Cherish the Ladies, and Gaelic Storm, and each is steeped in far-flung Irish musical traditions, from Dublin to New York City to Chicago.
Known for her emotional, evocative playing, fiddler Winifred Horan has had a long and celebrated career. She was born and raised in New York City to Irish parents, and her father, a carpenter and musician, was her first teacher on piano, before she embarked on Irish fiddle and classical violin lessons. As a teen, she won a full scholarship to attend the Mannes College of Music Preparatory School, and later graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. A nine-time champion National Irish step dancer and an All-Ireland fiddle champion, Horan has performed with such groundbreaking bands as Solas, Cherish the Ladies, and the Sharon Shannon Band.
Chicago native John Williams, Horan’s former bandmate with Solas, is to this day the only American-born All-Ireland concertina champion. On childhood summer visits to Ireland, Williams spent many hours learning from his grandfather and other traditional musicians in Doolin, County Clare. He is today noted for his collection and preservation of traditional songs from Clare. In his work as a solo musician, Williams has played with artists as diverse as Mavis Staples and Nickel Creek. A virtuoso on concertina and button accordion, he plays a wide range of traditional instruments with brilliance and sensitivity.
Katie Grennan was born and raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and has lived in the Chicago area for more than a decade. She was the fiddler in the popular Celtic-fusion band Gaelic Storm for more than five years, has recorded a number of solo albums, and currently plays in several musical projects at the forefront of traditional Celtic and Irish music, including the Bow Tides and the Chicago-based STEAM Quartet. Having passed the TCRG (Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rinci Gaelacha) Certification with honors in 2010 from An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (the largest worldwide governing body of Irish dance), she now holds a position as a lead instructor at the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance based in Chicago.
Pianist Utsav Lal was born in New Delhi, India, but grew up and spent most of his formative years in Dublin, Ireland. His work spans genres such as traditional Irish music, classical Indian forms, and jazz. Lal holds a bachelor’s in jazz from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, and was a student of Horan at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned a master’s in contemporary improvisation. “The minute I heard him play,” Horan relates, “I was just blown away and both of us kind of knew that we wanted to continue to work together.” Horan and Lal recorded a duet project before he joined Reviere Road. The group will also be joined by Aodan Coyne on guitar and vocals in Richmond.
Reverie Road released their much-anticipated debut, self-titled album in early 2024, which immediately made waves in the Irish traditional music genre. Even before they completed their 25-city album launch tour across the United States, the album was awarded the coveted Debut Album of the Year title by Chicago-based radio program Ireland Tonight.