The Wild turkeys are an energetic traditional Irish music group with a unique lively, upbeat sound that will guarantee to have your foot tapping. The versatile group are comfortable being the centre of attention at an event or are happy to perform an acoustic set to help create that energetic atmosphere in any room.
There are 6 core members in the group, consisting of two fiddles, banjo, accordion, guitar and they are delighted to team up with Bodhran extraordinaire Andy Reilly from Riverdance to perform everything from their beautiful slow airs to spirited high energy trad tunes. The group hails from a small village on the East Coast of Ireland called Ballygarrett in Co. Wexford and all the musicians, prize winners at all Ireland level, have a busy professional career both nationally and internationally.
The Turkeys are constantly in high demand and have performed throughout Ireland, France, Scotland, Denmark and the USA at private functions, festivals and pub gigs. Members of the band have performed individually and collectively with Internationally Reknown musicians such as John Spillane, Sharon Shanon, Michael O Suilleabhain, Kila, Zoe Conway, Mariead Nesbit, Frankie Gavin, De dennan, Aslan, Gerry O Connor and even Michael Buble.
In 2011 ten musicians (turkeys and friends) took to the stage in Nantes, France to perform at the largest festival in this part of France to an audience of over ten thousand. In 2015 the group performed support for Sharon Shanon at the Gorey Festival and in 2019 performed support for Zoe Conway and Gerry O Connor at the Wexford Traditional Irish Music Festival. In early 2019 our fiddle player Lynda O’ Connor was chosen to perform The Coolin live on RTE TV at the celebration of 100 years the Dail at Dublin Castle for president Michael D Higgins.
The Wild turkeys have a keen interest in education and are delighted to be the resident traditional Irish band in the education department of National Concert Hall Dublin. They create Bespoke Workshops for people of all ages including children as young as five years old. They have given workshops to over ten thousand students throughout Ireland. Members of the group are currently teaching in the two main University’s in Dublin teaching both classical violin and Traditional Irish fiddle.
The season ahead is filled with exciting projects including a collaboration with Icelandic singer song writer Palmar Orn Guomundsson. After recording an album in Ireland together they will tour throughout Ireland and Iceland promoting the new album in June 2019. Later this year the band will release their own debut album and in March 2020 The Wild Turkeys will tour the East Coast of USA giving masterclasses, workshops and performing in festivals and venues across four different states including Portland Texas
and New York.