Cillian Vallely.

Starting at age 7, Cillian Vallely learned the whistle and pipes from his parents Brian and Eithne at the Armagh Pipers Club, a group that for over 3 decades has fostered the revival of traditional music in the north of Ireland. Since leaving college, he has played professionally and has toured all over North America and Europe in addition to Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.

Since 1999, he has been a member of the band 'Lunasa', with whom he has recorded 5 albums and played at many major festivals including Womad, Edmonton Folk Festival and The Hollywood Bowl. He has also performed and toured with 'Riverdance', Tim O Brien's 'The Crossing', New York-based 'Whirligig', and the 'Celtic Jazz Collective'. He has recorded on over 40 albums including 'Callanbridge' with his brother Niall, and various guest spots with Natalie Merchant, Alan Simon's 'Excalibur' project with Fairport Convention and Moody Blues, 'GAIA' with the Prague Philharmonic and Karan Casey. He has recently recorded on two movie soundtracks, 'Irish Jam' and 'Chatham' and played pipes on the BBC's 'Flight of the Earls' soundtrack.

Kevin Crawford

Born in Birmingham, England, Kevin Crawford's early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, to where he eventually moved while in his 20's.

He was a member of Moving Cloud, the Clare-based band who recorded such critically-acclaimed albums as Moving Cloud and Foxglove, and he also recorded with Grianán, Raise The Rafters, Joe Derrane and Sean Tyrrell and appears on the 1994 recording The Sanctuary Sessions.

Kevin now tours the world with Ireland's cutting edge traditional band, Lúnasa, called by some the 'Bothy Band of the 21st Century,' with six ground breaking albums to their credit; Lúnasa, Otherworld, The Merry Sisters of Fate, Redwood, The Kinnitty Sessions and Sé. A virtuoso flute player, Kevin has also recorded two solo albums, D'Flute Album and the more recent In Good Company.

Press Reviews

Instrumental CD of the Year: On Common Ground

There are those who would argue that Kevin Crawford of Lunasa is the best trad flute player in the business. That is a sustainable point. He and his musical partner, Cillian Vallely, uillean piper supremo, (also of Lunasa) released a gorgeous, perfect gem of a thing this year, entitled, On Common Ground. Incredible. If you love real

Irish music, and you DO---(elsewise how did you get this far in the article?)---this is a must have album. We don't have space here for it all. There are 12 cuts on the album, covering a bunch of tunes. It is brilliant. THEY are brilliant. YOU will feel brilliant when you hear it. Go get it. Hear it. It IS Irish music. At its best.

This is a classic. Big time. Bill Margeson

2009 TOP 10 Trad Releases in CEOL Column in The Irish Echo, New York City Newspaper

#3. "On Common Ground" by Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford (self-issued; BallyO Records BOR 001).

Two members of Lunasa, still the best all-instrumental band in Irish trad today, venture out for a duet recording, and it's a dazzler. Born in Birmingham but a resident of Clare since 1989, flute, low whistle, and bodhran player Kevin Crawford and Armagh-born, Woodside, N.Y., resident Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes and low whistle perform music that's fluid and full-blooded, with a trace of sharpness to avoid any simpering sweetness. Their initial twin low whistle playing on the jigs "The Ivory Flute

/ Straddle the Donkey / Visit to Ireland" incorporates subtle variations and flourishes to keep the musical pot simmering, and the eventual entry of Vallely's pipes adds to the track's piquancy. The duo maintain a tempo that's dynamic without being too fast or too slow, allowing ample opportunity for embellishment and spontaneity in the service of melody. "On Common Ground" is a pinnacle performance from Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford, two uncommonly gifted Irish traditional musicians.

Earle Hitchner

Irish Music Magazine

Two of the most well-known musicians on the Irish music circuit, flute player Kevin Crawford and uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, announce the release of their exciting new album, 'On Common Ground'. A couple of years of researching tunes in between a heavy schedule of band commitments has directly led to this recording from Lúnasa's powerhouse melody makers.

Born in Birmingham, England, Kevin Crawford's early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, where he eventually moved while in his 20's. He quickly became one of the most sought-after and respected traditional musicians in Ireland and played in various groups including Moving Cloud, Grianan and Raise the Rafters.

Starting at age 7, Cillian Vallely learned the whistle and pipes from his parents, Brian and Eithne, at the Armagh Pipers Club. A childhood of travelling and playing with his family led to a career as a full-time musician which he has pursued for the last 15 years, recording on more than 40 albums and touring worldwide with such names as Riverdance, Tim O'Brien and Mary Chapin-Carpenter.

Joining Lúnasa in 1997 and 1999 respectively, Crawford and Vallely have become key components of a group which has become one of the most acclaimed and influential bands in the recent history of Irish music. Having released seven band albums and worked on numerous solo projects, the duo decided to combine their individual talents and create something different. An album with the distinctive sound of 'flat-pitched' flute and pipes duets has emerged.

The combination of uilleann pipes and flute is rare in duet recordings of traditional music and the duo have utilised the unique tonal qualities of these flat-pitched 'C' instruments to record their music. The tunes have been sourced from various manuscripts, archives and field recordings but there are also a number of new, self-composed pieces. In addition, Kevin and Cillian play a variety of low whistles and are accompanied on guitar by two of Ireland's most recognised and respected guitarists; Donal Clancy and Paul Meehan.

'Tasty tunes and terrific playing make "On Common Ground" one of the recording triumphs of this still young year' Irish Echo

'Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today' Irish Voice

'This is an album that features two guys at the top of their game offering up a stunner, slowly aged to perfection after years together. We love it. Done. Dusted.' Chicago Irish-American News

Irish Echo

'...With Armagh-born Cillian Vallely playing uilleann pipes, Crawford tackles that reel again on flute in "On Common Ground," an outstanding new duet debut by these Lunasa bandmates. Pipes and flute are heard without backing at the onset of "Teampall an Ghleantain / Fr. Newman's / The Periwig," then are joined by the guitar of fellow Lunasa colleague Paul Meehan in a medley bristling with energy and expertise, capped by that last reel's inexhaustible appeal.

On the album the music of Vallely and Crawford is fluid and full-blooded, with a trace of sharpness to avoid any simpering sweetness. Even their initial twin low whistle playing on the jigs "The Ivory Flute / Straddle the Donkey / Visit to Ireland" incorporates subtle variations and flourishes to keep the musical pot simmering, and the eventual entry of Vallely's pipes adds to the track's piquancy.Both musicians maintain a tempo that's dynamic without being too fast or too slow, allowing ample opportunity for embellishment and spontaneity in the service of melody. Vallely on pipes and Meehan on guitar start off the jigs "John Feehilly's / Ned Coleman's / Dominic's Farewell to Cashel," and then Crawford injects flute sustains that extend the regulator action of Vallely until pipes, flute, guitar, and bodhran mesh fully. The deceptively well-conceived architecture of this medley is easy on the ear.

The jigs "Helvic Head / Bill Harte's" feature another talented guitarist, Donal Clancy, who lays down a sturdy, flexible rhythm on which Crawford's flute and Vallely's pipes can confidently rely. Close listening reveals some passages of symmetrical, four-beat regulator work from Vallely to boost variety as he and Crawford skillfully drive the melody along."Days Around Lahinch / The Man From Moyasta" are slow reels written by Crawford and played by him and Vallely on low whistles, with Crawford adroitly tucking in accents and ornaments to pique interest.With Meehan backing him, Crawford takes a captivating flute solo on "The Leading Role / Little Man with the Brown Shoes / Bill Hoare's," all reels linked to button accordionist Billy McComiskey through his solo debut, "Makin' the Rounds," or the two albums made by Trian, a trio comprising McComiskey, Liz Carroll, and Daithi Sproule. Crawford has told me of his admiration for tunes written by McComiskey, especially on "Outside the Box," the Irish Echo's top traditional recording for 2008, and also for tunes by Carroll. The flutist nimbly fleshes out the track with his bodhran playing on the last two reels.

Vallely's solo is a medley of the slow air "Uirchill a' Chreagain," which he plays without accompaniment, followed by the reels "Gorman's" and "Ta an Saol ar Fad i nGra Liom," where Clancy joins on guitar. His piping is assured, crisp, and altogether impressive. Also on the album are a hornpipe-fling pairing of "The Birds / Jim Ward's," featuring flute, pipes, low whistle, and the guitar of Clancy, and other tracks of jigs and reels strengthening the allure of the duo's music made on flat-pitched instruments.

Tasty tunes and terrific playing make "On Common Ground" one of the recording triumphs of this still young year. It is a pinnacle performance from Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford, two uncommonly gifted Irish traditional musicians.'

Irish Voice

' Owing to the successful mating of these talented musicians, a new CD aptly named "On Common Ground" has emerged as an independent project on Bally O Records funded by both the Arts Council of Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Crawford lives in Clare while Vallely comes from Armagh).

Twelve tracks grace this new effort, and it is very clear that these boyos enjoy playing with one another and share a high regard for their fellow musicians who inspired them and with whom they have shared many a stage in their own extensive careers before they teamed up together when Vallely joined Lunasa a decade ago.

Carefully selected tunes with good liner notes flow fluidly throughout the album, reflecting many of the musical influences that formed them as individual artists who have much in common these days.

Crawford shines on his own in his solo track starting with a Carroll tune, 'The Leading Role,' followed by McComiskey's 'Little Man with the Brown Shoes' and also 'Bill Hoare's Reel' from McComiskey's 1981 jewel "Making the Rounds." Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today and in great demand for workshops. His solo spot begins with the air 'Uirchil a Chreagain,' which was the first one he learned from his parents Brian and Eithne Vallely at the Armagh Pipers Club before tearing into reels.

Guitar accompaniment is handled by their stellar Lunasa mate Paul Meehan, and Donal Clancy appears on five tracks with equal aplomb. Thirty-three tunes are played in lively and enjoyable fashion on the flute, pipes, low whistles in a style that won't have you thinking it's Lunasa lite, but rather two masters sharing an awful lot of common ground.'

Chicago Irish-American News

'The first time we ever heard Paul Crawford play the flute was many, many years ago with the best all-instrumental group in the history of Irish music, Moving Cloud. The group's two albums on Green Linnet still stand as the gold standard for musicians who love traditional music the world round. No question. Done. Dusted. Paul also did a lovely solo cd for Green Linnet, entitled, The Dflat Flute. Still superb, lo' these many years later. The videotape fast forwards, and I am seeing Paul again after all these years at The Old Town School of Folk Music, where I am about to introduce his group, Lunasa. The lads are celebrating their 10 years together on the scene. There can be no band in Irish music who has, for a decade, had a fuller, more hectic, more successful worldwide schedule than this group. A few days before the concert, one of the 500 or so albums we receive annually had arrived. It is entitled, On Common Ground. And, right there on the cover are Lunasa's piper, the wonderful Cillian Vallely, and