Biography
Irish indie folk-pop band the Young Folk came together in Dublin during 2010, each participant already carrying a notable musical lineage. Anthony Furey, the frontman, was the son of George Furey from the celebrated Furey Brothers. Keyboardist Paul Butler traced his roots directly to the storied Bourke theatrical clan, whose great-great uncle Peadar Kearney authored the Irish national anthem, "Amhrán na bhFiann." Bassist and mandolinist Tony McLoughlin had built a long career as a session player; his earliest group, Tribal Herb, had appeared on British television when he was only sixteen. Trombonist Alex Borwick, the ensemble’s sole member from New Zealand, likewise worked steadily as a session musician, recording and touring with acts such as Villagers and Lisa Hannigan.
Furey himself picked up the guitar only at age fifteen after discovering Americana through artists like Ryan Adams and Neil Young. Songwriting followed at once, and, determined to pursue an independent course apart from his family’s renown, he enrolled in a popular-music program in Tilburg, the Netherlands. While in Amsterdam he frequently walked past the renowned Paradiso and imagined performing there, a goal he would eventually achieve. At the college he encountered Butler and McLoughlin, who in turn brought in the band’s first drummer, Karl Hand. Shared enthusiasm for Americana and indie music—particularly the work of Tom Waits, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, and the National—quickly united them. Returning to Ireland, the musicians connected with Borwick on the Dublin scene. Their earliest recording appeared on an ARC Music compilation. Initially presented as Anthony Furey & the Young Folk, the group soon abandoned the prefix after pop stations assumed they were strictly a folk act and declined to broadcast their songs. The debut single, “Rooftops,” surfaced in 2010, followed the next year by a self-titled EP.
The Young Folk steadily gained recognition both domestically and internationally, their warm, intimate sound exploring the appeal and sentiment of ordinary experience. Constant live work took them from Amsterdam coffeehouses to British pubs. All members played multiple instruments, frequently crowding stages with as many as twenty pieces and occasionally leaving scant space for the drummer. Career momentum increased after they supported Midlake on American dates and later headlined the Paradiso. Weeks before that landmark performance, Hand departed; Patrick Hopkins stepped in for his first show with the band. Hopkins was subsequently succeeded by Scott Halliday. The debut album, The Little Battle, arrived in 2015 and was written predominantly by Furey. Its successor, First Sign of Morning, released in 2016, reflected greater collective input, with every member contributing material.
Furey himself picked up the guitar only at age fifteen after discovering Americana through artists like Ryan Adams and Neil Young. Songwriting followed at once, and, determined to pursue an independent course apart from his family’s renown, he enrolled in a popular-music program in Tilburg, the Netherlands. While in Amsterdam he frequently walked past the renowned Paradiso and imagined performing there, a goal he would eventually achieve. At the college he encountered Butler and McLoughlin, who in turn brought in the band’s first drummer, Karl Hand. Shared enthusiasm for Americana and indie music—particularly the work of Tom Waits, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, and the National—quickly united them. Returning to Ireland, the musicians connected with Borwick on the Dublin scene. Their earliest recording appeared on an ARC Music compilation. Initially presented as Anthony Furey & the Young Folk, the group soon abandoned the prefix after pop stations assumed they were strictly a folk act and declined to broadcast their songs. The debut single, “Rooftops,” surfaced in 2010, followed the next year by a self-titled EP.
The Young Folk steadily gained recognition both domestically and internationally, their warm, intimate sound exploring the appeal and sentiment of ordinary experience. Constant live work took them from Amsterdam coffeehouses to British pubs. All members played multiple instruments, frequently crowding stages with as many as twenty pieces and occasionally leaving scant space for the drummer. Career momentum increased after they supported Midlake on American dates and later headlined the Paradiso. Weeks before that landmark performance, Hand departed; Patrick Hopkins stepped in for his first show with the band. Hopkins was subsequently succeeded by Scott Halliday. The debut album, The Little Battle, arrived in 2015 and was written predominantly by Furey. Its successor, First Sign of Morning, released in 2016, reflected greater collective input, with every member contributing material.
Albums