Damien O'Kane

'The banjo jokes end here. While we all have a laugh at the banjos expense, take the time to hear one played properly. Exceptional articulation and musicality are Damiens hallmarks fast and fluid playing with tremendous assurance. If there are many more players like him they'll soon be telling stories about guitarists'! - Chris Newman



Damien was the only Northern Irish musician to be nominated for an award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2007.



albums featuring Damien:

Summer Hill 2010 (PRCD34)

Sweet Bells 2008 (Kate Rusby PRCD33)

Haven 2006 (Flook - features a composition of damien's on it)

Box On 2006 (Shona Kipling + Damien O'Kane)

Momentum 2005 (CrossCurrent)

Melodeon Crimes 2005 (Julian Sutton instrumental album)

Pure Chance 2003 (Shona Kipling + Damien O'Kane)



Damien, 31, hails from Coleraine in Co. Derry, Northern Ireland and now lives in South Yorkshire having moved over to England in 2001 to complete a degree course at Newcastle University. He completed his degree and graduated in 2005 and has been performing ever since. He comes from an extremely talented family where his mum and dad, Colette and Joe, introduced him to Irish traditional music at an early age. Brothers and sisters play an array of instruments and the family toured extensively throughout Damien's youth taking them to venues as far as Iceland, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland and several others. Now residing in the heart of Yorkshire, Damien continues to play in several different guises as well as embarking on his own solo career in 2010 with his first solo record 'Summer Hill' due for release on April 5th 2010.



Best known for his work with Shona Kipling and Flook and more recently Kate Rusby, his first solo record concentrates mainly on traditional song material from Ulster, N. Ireland where he was born and bred. He has recruited a fine set of musicians to join him on 'Summer Hill' such as Dave Kosky, Michael McGoldrick, Kate Rusby, John-Joe Kelly, James MacIntosh, Aaron Jones and more. Containing 10 songs and various instrumental pieces, the album will be released through 'Pure Records' based in S Yorkshire.



In addition to working on his own material, Damien has recently become a full-time member of Kate Rusby's band of men! See Kates tour dates at www.katerusby.com



Damiens musical career has earned him credit as a creative and exciting player and singer and as an excellent teacher of folk and traditional music. His banjo playing has given him a reputation as one of the finest Irish players on the scene today. His work with Shona Kipling, accordion player extraordinaire, earned them both a Folk Award nomination in 2007 and their gigs expanded all over the world from Spain to Canada. Having spent a year with Anglo-Irish supergroup Flook, his banjo playing took him to many more different venues. Now with a solo career ahead and his work with Kate Rusby, he is sure to continue his success and further his reputation as a superb singer and instrumentalist.