Frankie Gavin is one, if the not the best, of Ireland’s premier traditional fiddle players. And in a land that produces many prodigiously talented players, that is saying a lot.
In a nutshell, Frankie has been playing since the age of four, when he was handed a whistle, and has since performed for four American presidents (among others) beginning at the age of six; won All-Ireland titles on the flute and fiddle at age 17; is a founding member of legendary Irish trad band De Danann and more; performs and records with other luminaries in the Irish trad must scene and more, such as Yehudi Menuhin, Elvis Costello, Stephane Grappelli, and the Rolling Stones. He was in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s fastest fiddler; was made the Irish ambassador to Italy in 2013; won Gradam Ceoil’s prestigious 2018 Musician of the Year Award; played for the pope in Dublin along with Andrea Bocelli and others and premiered his symphonic homage to Princess Grace last March in Monaco for Prince Ranier and the rest of the royals. And if that were not enough, De Danann even had their own official government stamp! The Sunday Times’ Fintan Vallely says of Frankie’s playing: “Innovation may be the buzz-word in traditional music, but Frankie Gavin’s digressions are not in the common areas of tempo and superficial-style impressions. His contemporary borrowings of art-deco and music-hall Irishness are re-jigged in original avenues of exploration . . .”
Frankie continues exploring new avenues with his other bands, KGB (with Dermot Byrne and Paddy Keenan – The Living Legends), the Provenance, and his Roaring 20’s Irish Orchestra.
“Frankie Gavin is one of the geniuses of Irish music, recognized as one of the world fiddle/violin masters and compared to artists of the caliber of Grappe/Ii in jazz and Menuhin in the classical world.” Ita Kelly, Tara Music