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“Keeping it Reel,” is the culmination of nearly 20 years of musical collaboration between Ian Walsh and Kevin Buckley, two of Irish music’s prized fiddler players and multi-instrumentalists. Walsh grew up playing fiddle in both St. Louis and his father’s home in Ireland, winning many Midwestern Fleadh competitions, mastering the mandolin and also expanding his interest in bluegrass and old-time music. Buckley, another St. Louis native, had similar competitive success, including an All-Ireland fiddle title and critical acclaim as a singer/songwriter (Grace Basement) in more recent years. Utilizing fiddles, mandolins and guitars, both musicians play Irish music fluently in the traditional style while incorporating other elements of folk music into their performances to form a thrilling and unique take on age old traditions. The album’s material ranges from straight ahead traditional reels and jigs (tracks one and eight) to bluegrass (track four) and old time (track six). “Keeping it Reel,” also features Chris Weddle on bodhran, Midwestern legends, The Irish Bridge and uilleann piper Tommy Martin (Celtic Woman, Teada).