Elders become heavy hitters in Celtic music

“That’s unheard of. But we started it as something fun to do on the weekends – kill time, get free beer and hang out with our pals,” Phillips, a guitarist and mandolinist, said in a phone interview from his home in Kansas City, Mo.

“Once we started writing the songs, we realized that we were not just this bar band but that we have something special here.

“And we’ve continued to nurture it,” he added.

The band’s Celtic root comes from lead singer Ian Byrne, who joined the band in 2002, about four years after The Elders began.

	The Elders WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7 WHERE: The Dirty Bourbon Dance Hall & Saloon, 9800 Montgomery NE HOW MUCH: $17 in advance, $20 day of show at ampconcerts.org, at Hold My Ticket, 112 Second SW, or 886-1251

“At that moment, with him coming on, we shifted into high gear. We have the advantage of his being Irish,” Phillips said. “It kind of gave us a legitimacy of being an Irish band.”

He said Byrne had been a drummer “sitting in the back” before joining The Elders but Phillips said he told Byrne that “we already have a drummer. We need you up front. He’s good at chatting with the audience, tells stories about how the songs came about.

“Over the years, he’s developed a reputation as a very charismatic and interesting frontman. He’s got a great voice.”

The Elders will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7 at The Dirty Bourbon.

Phillips said the band has been successfully riding the wave of popularity of Celtic music over the last several decades.

When The Elders started out, there were a handful of Irish and other Celtic bands in the United States, but since then that number has blossomed and along with it the number of Celtic festivals that offer music besides games and other entertainment.

“It’s grown into a phenomenon,” Phillips said. “It’s international now. The music is popular in Spain, in Germany and we’ve been there to play festivals.”