He is a founding member of popular Celtic and Irish folk groups including the Irish folk group Donnybrook Fair, retro band The Fabulous Newports, Celtic folk rockers The Hard Road Ceili Band and the Celtic Bluegrass band The McKrells.

McKrell has appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall with one of his major influences The Fury Brothers, and has shared other stages throughout the world with Travis Tritt, Alison Krause and Sam Bush to name a few.

McKrell’s remarkable songwriting career has led to his songs being recorded and performed by famous Celtic and Irish folk artists like The Fury Brothers, Seamus Kennedy, North Sea Gas and most recently the Kingston Trio.

Aside from music, McKrell is also an award winning painter and sculptor, not to mention being a writer who is currently working on a book about his experiences of growing up Catholic. I sat down with McKrell to discuss how he got into playing Celtic and Irish folk music, his artwork and his career in music.

What originally drew you to Celtic and Irish folk music?

The thing about Irish music is it’s just like American music. When someone says do you love American music, you say what kind of American music and the same can be said about Irish music. For instance, my father was really into Irish folk. He listened to bands like the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners. Over time, I became really drawn to the stories of these folk songs, and when I started playing after high school everyone was doing Jim Croce and Neil Young. I told the guy I was playing with at the time that my father had a lot of old Irish folk records he listens to, so let’s listen to those and see if there is anything on them we could play. We started listening to the records and realized that it was powerful stuff and that’s pretty much where it all started.

What is your secret to having such a long career in music?

Not knowing how to do anything else and a determination that this is what I know how to do. And it’s not just about the music because what I know how to do is to be on stage and music is just the vehicle for that.

What is your favorite part about performing live?

If it’s just me, I love the give and take with the audience. I do a lot of comedy and acting between songs, so it gives me a chance to interact with audiences. When it comes to performing with a band, what I really love is the interplay between players. I write and arrange all the songs performed, so all the guys I am playing with can read music, which allows me to create that interplay between players and I just love watching it all come together. I have one rule for people who play with me and that is you have to have big ears because you don’t know what is going to happen next due to the structure of each song being so loose. I love the feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next.

Artists like the Fury Brothers and Seamus Kennedy among others have recorded and performed the songs you have written. What do you think that says about your career as a songwriter?

It’s great because bands like the Fury Brothers and the Kingston Trio are my heroes; to me they are what the Beatles are to many rock artists, and now they are performing my music—it truly is an honor.

You have shared the stage with artists like the Kingston Trio, Alison Krause and Sam Bush. What were those experiences like?

They were wonderful experiences. Some of the artists you become friends with and some of them you don’t, but I have opened for the Fury Brothers on a number of occasions and got to perform my songs along side them, which was a thrill. I have also opened a lot for Travis Tritt who is wonderful and Alison Kraus has become a very good friend. There are few groups we have opened for who haven’t become long time friends.  It’s also a thrill because sometimes when you’re opening a show the headliner doesn’t even know who you are. Where all the bands we have opened for have personally requested us to open for them, so that is a whole different thing than some agent calling and asking you to open for an act that has nothing to do with your music. 

What was it like to perform your music in Ireland?

Performing for the Irish is always fantastic, but they are extremely knowledgeable, so all I can say is don’t screw up especially if you are performing their music. The difference between performing for European audiences and American audiences is American audiences are almost daring you to entertain them while Irish or European audiences are like here it’s our money, let’s hear it.

How did you get into painting and stone carving?

I started drawing when I was a kid, but never took it seriously. However, about 13 years ago I was diagnosed with Reactive Airways Disease and Asthma and because of that I was in bed for three months and I couldn’t sing. So I decided to start drawing, which eventually led to painting. My paintings started out terrible and then it got better and better and better and now I can’t think of any other way I would rather spend my time. I got into sculpting when I saw a stone on the side of the road one day and brought it home. I carved it into a face and sold it for silly amount of money and now I do a lot of stone and marble work. I have power tools, but I try to do my artwork the old-fashioned way by starting with a hammer and a chisel. I just love it.

You have played in cities and towns throughout the U.S. and Ireland. What’s special about performing in Saratoga Springs compared to other places?

The music scene in Saratoga Springs has always been really cool. I was involved in the Albany music scene for a number of years and back then the scene was very competitive and the bar scene was into covers and not into original music. Saratoga on the other hand is extremely accepting of original music. So I started coming up here on the weekends and playing gigs at the Parting Glass and just fell in love with the bar and the whole scene.

You can learn more about Kevin McKrell by visiting:

www.kmckrell.com