Young Dubliners

The Young Dubliners formed in 1988 with a lineup that included Ciarán Sheehan on banjo and lead vocals, Keith Roberts on guitar and vocals, Paul O'Driscoll on bass, Shane Waters on uilleann pipes and whistles, and Dave Kincaid on drums. They started playing in Dublin pubs before moving to New York City, where they found a place in the folk scene there.

Their sound mixed Irish traditional elements with American folk-rock, which sometimes drew criticism from purists who felt they were straying too far from Irish roots. The band kept at it anyway, putting out their self-titled debut album in 1991. Later releases like 'Alive in Dublin' from 1997 and 'Alive in America' from 2005 documented their live energy.

One of their songs, 'Brown Dog,' shows how they handled that blend of influences, not exactly traditional, but not straight rock either. They've kept a fairly steady presence since, recording albums like 'With Friends' in 2012 without much fuss about being groundbreaking or defining a genre.