Boiled In Lead is the longest-running Celtic punk band in America, and an important part of the foundation of what became Minnesota punk rock. Reborn for the band’s 40th Anniversary, core members Todd Menton and Drew Milleradd drummer Mo Engel and violinist Haley Olson to the lineup, moving forward with a wealth of new material, as well as looking backward to reframe old tunes.

 

Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü was among those who praised the band’s first self-released LP (“Even the Fiddles Rock,”) and the Hüskers invited the band to play an early show at Goofy’s Upper Deck. Today, the band’s star is still on the wall at First Avenue.

 

Boiled In Lead have been innovators in bridging traditional music from many cultures with the sound and attitude of a rock band. A Boiled In Lead concert combines darkly-tinged folk ballads and originals with instrumental dance music from Ireland and elsewhere. Winners of multiple Minnesota Music Awards, the group has toured throughout the US and in Europe. 

 

Enthusiastic, powerful, technically brilliant, playing a wealth of instruments with extreme dynamics, Boiled In Leadroutinely demolishes genres with its highly-identifiable sound.

 

 “…the prime purveyor of a style of Celtic music infused with punk-rock attitude, developing over the years with a hard-driving swirl that combined Irish folk with heavy rock and elements of styles from all over the world. …one of the best bands Minnesota’s ever produced. …even without amplification, Boiled In Lead can summon up furious punk-folk energy.”  The Onion

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Áit Ait (Irish for “strange place” or “uncanny valley”) are an experimental folk duo focused on reinterpretations of traditional songs – dark and deep, bright and sparkling; full of noise and life. Based in Minnesota, Áit Ait (pronounced “ahh-tch eye-tch”) is Aja McCullough (song) and Patrick Maun(sound). The two set out to explore the living tradition that is Irish folk music – ever evolving and always changing, a solid footing set in the past but looking towards the future.