IAHM Trad/Folk Performance Series - Kevin Burke

"A fiddle icon." Irish Music Magazine

“A lyrical player of emotional electricity.” The Washington Post

“Burke imparts a rhythmic intensity that is remarkably powerful...a superior instrumentalist in any idiom...impressively virtuosic.” The New York Times

The Irish American Heritage Museum is proud to welcome Kevin Burke, one of the great fiddle players in the history of Irish music. Kevin's bow has driven the Bothy Band, Patrick Street, Open House and Celtic Fiddle Festival. Kevin was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in the United States, and in Ireland the prestigious Gradam Ceoil Award. Kevin brings to IAHM's Flanagan Theater a solo performances of flawless and brilliant unaccompanied fiddle, delivered with humorous stories of the tunes and their makers. These shows are an absolute delight, and truly memorable. Kevin’s easy and welcoming manner leaves the audience feeling like privileged guests, and with a richer understanding of this great tradition.

In whatever context - be it guesting with Dervish or Lunasa, with Christy Moore, in a band, or solo - Kevin’s fiddle is a dynamic melodic force, the voice of the master.

Kevin's technical virtuosity is matched with soulful musicality, a deep knowledge of the Irish traditional repertoire and a unique personal style. A generation of Irish fiddle players have been inspired and influenced by his silky-smooth tone, pulsing rhythmic bowing and crisply executed ornamentation, but Kevin’s art defies imitation.

Born in London to Irish parents, Kevin began playing at the age of seven and soon found his way to the forefront of the vibrant Irish music scene in “the Big Smoke,” serving an apprenticeship in the 1960s in London dance halls and with the All-Ireland champion Glenside Ceili Band. A chance meeting with Arlo Guthrie in County Clare led to his first journey to the U.S., where he found himself meeting New York fiddle great Andy McGann and recording in Los Angeles with slide guitarist Ry Cooder. Kevin’s reputation was steadily growing, leading to invitations to join Christy Moore’s band and the famous Bothy Band, widely regarded as the greatest Irish traditional music group of all time.

Next, Kevin formed a partnership with guitarist and singer Mícheal Ó Domhnaill, and later became a mainstay of the groups Patrick Street, Open House, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival.

On September 28, 2025, Kevin's performance will be totally solo; as Kevin calls it, “the naked fiddle.” This type of performance would be an intimidating high-wire act for many musicians, but Kevin’s easy manner and clever wit will create an intimate bond with IAHM's audiences and will undoubtedly produce a spell-binding performance.

Host or Publisher Irish American Heritage Museum