The blues have been brought to Ireland by Dublin-born guitarist, harmonica player, and gritty voiced vocalist Dermot Byrne. Accompanied by his band, Dirt Road, featuring pianist/keyboards player Paul Miller, bassist Paul Byrne, and drummer Tim Creedon, Byrne continues to forge his own style based on the boogie rhythms of Jimmy Reed and the Delta blues of Son House and Willie Johnson. The American South remains a theme of Byrne's songs. His 2000 album, Lonesome to the Bone, included songs about the Southern lynch mobs of the 1960s and the first woman to be executed in Texas in more than a century. Byrne first attracted attention after forming his first band, the Dermot Byrne Blues Combo, featuring bassist Dave Ross and drummer Ed O'Callaghan, in 1995. A prolific songwriter, Byrne has released three albums of his tradition-rooted original tunes: Lonesome to the Bone, Raw Whiskey Blues, and The Acoustic Catalog. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi