For lovers of Celtic music, the name John Doyle is synonymous with Celtic music at its very best.

This Thursday, on May 12, 2016, Celtic music lovers will have the rare chance to catch both John Doyle and up-coming contemporary Celtic singer-songwriter Ashley Davis at The Whirlybird Honky Tonk SWLA Culture Club, St. Landry Parish, Lafayette, Southwest Louisiana 70501, a somewhat underground yet popular Lafayette art-venue.

Born in Dublin, John Doyle began his influential career as the guitarist for Irish super-group Solas. Credited with creating a unique, instantly recognizable, and highly percussive guitar style, the award-winning musician and singer-songwriter has since released three highly acclaimed solo albums and is currently working on his fourth.  As a much in demand touring musician, Doyle has also worked with such Americana greats as Joan Baez and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

According to Doyle, the roots of Americana music such as Bluegrass and Cajun music are firmly rooted in the same soil as Celtic music, and, as such, are linked in terms of both people and community.

“Traditional music, whether Irish or Americana, is called traditional music for a reason,” said Doyle. “Bluegrass, Cajun, and Old Time music is very similar to Irish – it’s an evolution of the music.  Traditional music has lasted for all these years, sometimes for centuries, because it has strength in terms of culture, music, people, and the way that it communicates all that through the music. The future might be hard to tell, but I think, because of that strength, that there will always be room for traditional music.”

A native of Kansas, Doyle’s touring partner Ashley Davis was recently named by The Irish Voice “one the most influential Irish-American women under the age of 40.” Doyle and Davis’ musical collaboration began in 2013: their up-coming concert at The Whirlybird is the first time in many years that Doyle has performed in Louisiana.

“The South is not the easiest touring route for Celtic musicians, so coming to Louisiana is a nice departure from the norm,” said Doyle. “In the Northeast and the Midwest there are more established venues, so you can make a tour work easier, but in states like Louisiana and Texas, you really need local booking agents. But I would love to see a touring scene in Louisiana for Celtic musicians.  It is really simple, if you build it, we will come!”

The event is being presented by the Celtic Bayou Festival (CBF), and according to festival co-founder Tony Davoren, building a network of venues for Celtic musicians to enable them play not just in Lafayette, but throughout the South, is an important goal for CBF.

“Part of the success of CBF is that it established a network of like-minded people who really want to see more of this kind of music down here,” said Davoren. “It is a good solid foundation for similar future events, and we have established connections with various groups in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Dallas. What we are trying to do is bring all those resources together and create a Celtic music scene down here, and we are open to anyone who wants to help support authentic Celtic music here in the South.”

John Doyle and Ashley Davis will perform at The Whirlybird Honky Tonk SWLA Culture Club, St. Landry Parish, Lafayette, Southwest Louisiana 70501 on May 12, 2016 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

More concert information on and directions to the Whirlybird are available at http://thewhirlybird.com/

More information about John Doyle is available at http://johndoylemusic.com/.  More information about Ashley Davis is available at http://www.daisyrings.com/.

More information on CBF events and booking is available at tonydavoren@me.com.