Sean McComiskey

Sean McComiskey is among the most innovative young performers on the button accordion, with a unique harmonic style that has earned him a spot in the pantheon of Irish accordionists far beyond his native Baltimore. As the son of legendary button accordion player and National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey, Sean has been surrounded by Irish Traditional music his entire life and has developed a deep appreciation for the tradition of which he is a part. This has helped Sean establish a reputation as a highly regarded teacher and promulgator of Irish music and earned him teaching positions with the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Augusta Heritage Center’s Irish Arts Week, the Chris Langan Traditional Irish Music Weekend in Toronto, the CCE Musical Arts and Dance (MAD) Week in Washington, DC, the Baltimore Irish Trad Fest, and the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival.

In addition to being a highly regarded teacher, Sean has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He was recently honored as a silver medalist in the Senior All-Ireland Melodeon competition. He’s recorded albums and toured with groups including NicGaviskey and the Old Bay Ceili Band. In 2014, Sean formed the Baltimore-based acoustic roots group, Charm City Junction, with Patrick McAvinue on bluegrass fiddle, Brad Kolodner on Appalachian old-time clawhammer banjo, and Alex Lacquement on upright bass. In 2015, they released their self-titled debut album and in 2016 were nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Band Momentum Award. This collaboration has enabled Sean to bring his unique style of Irish button accordion to the old-time and bluegrass music communities as a featured performed at venues including the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy Center, the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, the National Folk Festival, and numerous other folk and acoustic music festivals, concerts, and performing arts centers around the country. They released their third studio album, “Salt Box,” in 2024 which hit number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts the week of its release.

When Sean isn’t playing the button accordion, he is the owner and clinic director of a private practice physical therapy office in Baltimore City called Birch Tree Physical Therapy and Wellness. In his work as a PT, one of his areas of special interest is the treatment and rehabilitation of injured musicians and artists suffering from repetitive stress injuries.