Band focuses on Irish roots

Eric Rogers had heard nearly 10 Irish groups.
He was convinced he wouldn’t book any of them.
That was, until FullSet took the stage.
“I heard these folks and I said, ‘I changed my mind,” said Rogers. “They just had a sparkle to them.”
FullSet will bring the sparkle that caught Rogers eye to Jay County when it performs at 7:30 p.m. March 15 at Arts Place in Portland.
“They weren’t about glitz,” said Rogers, who doesn’t book an act unless he has seen it in person. “They were about the music. That’s a big deal with me.
“This is truly and Irish group that knows the roots out of which they’ve come.”
The six-person group that focuses on traditional Irish music arrived in the United States for its current tour Feb. 13 in Denver. Its March dates include visits to Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana (Lafayette), Oklahoma and Ohio before arriving in Portland.
This marks its fifth U.S. tour since 2012.
“We’re delighted that America has found some interest in us,” said fiddle player Michael Harrison. “It’s great to be able to share our music with this audience.
“We love coming here and playing because we do feel the audience here really embraces Irish music. … We want to make sure they feel like they’re in Ireland at the time.”
FullSet will play a variety of venues during its tour, from arts centers to high schools and colleges to Irish festivals. Regardless of the size of its stage or audience, Harrison said his group seeks to make a special connection with the audience.
The group encourages participation — singing and dancing — and offers concert-goers the opportunity to ask questions about the band or Irish culture.
“Regardless of the size of the place, we try to make our performance as intimate as possible with the audience,” Harrison said. “What we love to do … is get to know our audience and for them to really interact with our music.”
FullSet’s members all had previous individual musical aspirations before the core of the group came together seven years ago.
Harrison is a three-time All-Ireland fiddle champion, and his wife, Janine, is the band’s Button Accordion player. Eamonn Moloney is the percussionist, Andrew Meaney plays guitar and Teresa Horgan sings and plays the flute.
The only member of the band who is not Irish is the Italian-born Martino Vacca. He moved to Ireland in 2005 and plays Uilleann Pipes, which Harrison calls one of the most complex Irish traditional instruments.
Its music focuses on the traditional Irish, but Harrison emphasized that the group also tries to create fresh and innovative arrangements.
“We have a lot of instrumentation,” he added. “We have a lot of layers. …
“We’re trying to create this one big sound.”
FullSet won the RTE/RAAP Breakthrough Annual Music Bursary Award in 2011. And it followed that up with the Best New Group Award in 2012 from Irish American News.
Rogers was especially thrilled to be able to get such a group to visit Portland just two days before St. Patrick’s Day.
 “I was really surprised,” said Rogers. “Once in a while the stars align, and this is one of those times. …
 “I don’t know how we got quite so lucky.
 “This is going to be a great show.”[[In-content Ad]]