HighTime, a fresh new trio from the heart of Conamara, Ireland combines Irish music and an intriguing blend of modern folk influences to produce a rich sound and exciting experience to delight listeners.

Ciarán Bolger is an entertainer, singer and guitarist from Garraí Árd in the village of Ardmore in Conamara. Learning whistle and traditional sean-nós singing at a young age, Ciarán developed a love and respect for the music tradition of Conamara. Focusing on guitar in his teens, Ciarán explored a mixture of traditional and contemporary music. This exploration has formed the basis for his emotive vocals and also his vibrant and expressive guitar style; drawing inspiration from a multitude of genres.

Ciarán has toured in over a dozen countries with acclaimed Irish Music and Dance Show, Celtic Legends, performing in some of the most prestigious venues in Paris, Rio De Janeiro, Geneva and across the globe. More recently, Ciarán spent four months performing aboard the cruise ship, The Disney Magic, on the high seas with the Disney Cruise Line Company.

Inspired by folk heroes such as Bob Dylan, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Christy Moore, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen to name but a few, Ciarán has amassed a repertoire of unusual and rare ballads, stories and songs from the folk traditions of Ireland, the U.K, Canada and U.S.A. He is a natural entertainer and storyteller; always keeping the story and soul of the song as a guiding light.

Michael Coult, originally from a town called Glossop, close to Manchester, developed a passion for traditional Irish music at a very young age.  With Manchester as a hub for learning Michael developed his flute playing heavily influenced and encourage by the city’s venerated and lesser known talents in the Irish music tradition.

Michael moved to Limerick in 2005 where he completed a BA with Honours in Irish Music and Deance.  During this time he gained exposure to many masters of the tradition that visited and gained a breadth of experiences with performance, cross-cultural exchanges, recording and composing.  Since then Michael has traveled the world with various bands and touring shows to every continent on the glove.

Whilst his craft is playing flute and whistles Michael is well known on the Irish session scene as a guitar accompanist and an exponent of the uncommonly used “Open D” tuning.

He works extensively with the incredibly popular touring production, “Celtic Legends,” playing endless sellout shows across mainland Europe and Morocco, Australia, Lebanon, South America, and beyond.  A founder member of contemporary Irish/Scottish roots band “The Recollective,” Michael is currently working on his debut solo flute album.

Having played with both Ciarán and Séamus throughout the years, Michael is delighted to join HighTime on their debut tour of the USA.

Séamus Ó Flaherty’s skills in dancing, singing and playing instruments reflect his personality. At only nineteen years old, Séamus meets each discipline with a passion and quiet zeal backed up by a love of the traditional Irish music heritage. Since the age of sixteen, he has been making waves in the fields of music, dance and singing across the globe; performing in China, U.S.A, Canada, The United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and France. He had the privilege of performing more recently alongside Cherish the Ladies at the world renowned Celtic Connections in 2017.

Born into a family steeped in Irish traditional music, it wasn’t long before Séamus got his eager hands on the Tin Whistle, learning to play his first piece of music before developing into an accomplished multi-instrumentalist.

An incredible twenty three time all Ireland champion on harp, whistle, singing and dancing, Séamus has performed on numerous tours across the globe, travelling extensively alongside other accomplished musicians, singers and dancers. For all that he is young, Séamus has made numerous television appearances, and has been featured in many radio programmes throughout his early musical career.

Séamus is one of the few of his age responsible for maintaining the old style of Irish singing. “Sean-Nós” or “Old Style” singing, an ancient form of decorative Irish song, is of huge importance to him. He proudly boasts the beauty of this Irish art-form wherever he goes, delivering haunting renditions of poignant Irish folklore and mesmeric melodies to attentive audiences far and wide. 

A keen multi-instrumentalist, he has entertained audiences worldwide with displays of rhythmic dance, vibrant music and compelling vocals.

Their debut album “Sunda” (Irish for sound, in the meaning of a stretch of water, or is it a pun actually?) features a pleasing tone.” – Folk World

“Their three-part harmonies are subtle and sophisticated. The song selection covers catchy English-language ballads (“The Village of Cloch Bhuí”) and contemporary folk songs (Richard Thompson’s “Beeswing”), as well as haunting Gaelic sean-nós (“An Tiarna Randal”) and lusty sea shanties (“South Australia”). After all, their ancestors had been seafaring people until recently, while HighTime are now making waves in the realm of traditional and folk music.” – Folk World