John Carty

John Carty entered the world in London to Irish parents and has since claimed a leading position among traditional music practitioners while remaining a committed advocate for safeguarding the tradition. Exposure to his father, a multi-instrumentalist who played with the Glenside in the 1960s, sparked Carty’s command of fiddle, banjo, and flute alike. At sixteen he began sitting in on sessions with Ireland’s foremost players, prompting serious consideration of a permanent move across the Irish Sea. Not long after establishing himself in Boyle, County Roscommon, he issued his debut album, Last Night’s Fun, in 1996 and received encouraging notices. The following year he joined At the Racket, the buoyant, freewheeling dance band whose name recalls an old Flanagan Brothers 78 rpm record; the group delivered its self-titled album in 1998. In 2000 Carty began a partnership with guitarist Arty McGlynn that produced his second release, Yeh, That’s All It Is. Shanachie presented his third album, At It Again, in 2003.