Nothing better than John Byrne Band for a St. Paddy’s weekend Free at Noon

St Patrick’s Day weekend would not be complete without green clothes, pints of beer, and (of course) Irish music. John Byrne Band and his fans delivered on all three at today’s Free At Noon concert, opening up the weekend with some of the best Irish folk music around town.

The band first came to life in 2011, when they released their debut, After The Wake. They just kept on rolling from there, releasing Celtic Folk in 2013, The Immigrant and the Orphan in 2015, and most recently A Shiver in the Sky in 2019 (with singles in between).

For Free at Noon, however, the band pulled out all the talent and skill for a sold out crowd. Opening up with the majestic and soul-stirring “New York Trader” and then had the crowd pumping their fists to “Greenland.” With fans dancing, singing, jumping, and pumping fists in the air, World Cafe Live could not have been a more upbeat place. A Dublin native, Byrne put his vocals on full display, backed by a team of players bringing fiddle, accordion, keys, and guitar int othe mix.

Mid-set, Byrne took a break to talk about his story, how he first came to America arriving in Wildwood, New Jersey: he bought a fake ID, drank with the locals and began making music at a very young age. Not too long after, he moving to Philadelphia and hit the ground running.

The band picked up where they left off with a few more songs, such as “Diamond and 4th,” “The Well,” “Special Place in Hell,” and “Something in the Air.” Their talented instrumental interplay, powerful vocals, and a stage presence decked out in green was truly a special experience to see and hear.

John Byrne Band will be playing at several venues over the next several days — St. Paddy’s is their “busy season” as Dan Reed put it in his introduction — see their schedule at their website, listen back to the show above, and see more pictures from the show below.