Chasing Abbey Bring their Irish Trad House Charm and Hospitality to Casbah with Ali Coyle

Chasing Abbey brought their unique blend of house and traditional Irish music to San Diego for the first time at the Casbah last Sunday night, September 27th. The band released their debut album just a few weeks ago, after almost ten years of making music together. They just began their first ever world tour! The crowd was electric and certainly brought the energy, and the volume, to give them a warm San Diego welcome.

The opening act, Ali Coyle, set the perfect mood for the night. The singer joined Chasing Abbey for three nights of Irish indie folk melodies and beautiful songwriting. She sang of Dublin scenery and old friends with her airy soprano voice. She talked about growing up in a traditionally Irish family and learning about her heritage and history, connecting with the crowd as many respond in groans translating to “I can relate!” The room became a community and just in time for Chasing Abbey to bring us all together and get us dancing.

The set started with such a bang that guitarist Jonathan Byrne had a snapped guitar string by the first song, “Gorta,” which already had the entire crowd jumping and dancing. They immediately dove into the songs from their newest and debut album Cyber Celt. The album has strong political themes, tying the stories of Ireland’s past to current day world issues, specifically the genocide in Palestine and the rise of billionaires and wealth hoarders, while maintaining the thematic thread within traditional folk of passing down stories, as they sing, “All this time it was just for the glory, we never forget through our songs and our stories.”

They told their own story of how they started out, meeting in college and bonding over their love of Irish music, and how they came to blending the sounds of their childhood with the sounds of university days, the dance and electronic world. With Byrne on guitar, Ronan Bell on banjo, Ted Conway on lead vocals, singing in English and Gaelic, and a DJ behind them, they create their own completely unique sound and genre, a genre specific to their upbringings and origin story.

It happened to be lead singer Conway’s birthday, and the crowd became a chorus singing Happy Birthday and sending all their well wishes his way. For a moment, we all felt like family. The encore brought us an intimate,, no instruments no microphone rendition of “Íorónta,” and then brought the energy back up high for one more dance our hearts out moment with “Aris is Aris,” (translates to “Again and Again”) for a second go around.

It was an incredible show with a high energy, excited, and adoring crowd. Chasing Abbey has a singular sound and feel, putting on a fantastic show blending traditional, intimate Irish folk with moments that make you wanna dance, cry, and rage against the machine. That Irish charm and hospitality left the audience feeling empowered by love, community and tradition.