ABOUT THE BAND
Dumbo's Feather is a traditional Irish/Scottish/World Folk trio comprised of three vastly experienced musicians. Fronted by the remarkable fiery fiddle playing of Alice McShane, and augmented by multi-instrumentalists Mike Cosgrave and Richie Evans.
The band is available in two different formats, either performing live shows as a trio, or as a 4 piece for Ceilidhs, where we use the additional services of a vastly experienced dance caller.
We perform at Festivals, Folk & Acoustic Clubs, Pubs, Restaurants, House Concerts, Village Halls, Weddings, Private Events and Corporate Events.
BAND BIOGRAPHIES
ALICE McSHANE
Alice has played traditional Irish/Scots folk fiddle for nearly 30 years. As a classically trained musician she was soon drawn back to her Scots/Irish roots to play with The Life of Riley for several years, touring England and Ireland supporting such acts as Sharon Shannon at The Swan's Nest in Brixton and The Waterboys in County Clare. She later joined Five Furious Fish, a Taunton based band that developed close musical connections with Jethro Tull's Martin Barre and The Summer Band which led to joint recordings and performances. Five Furious Fish performances include the mainstage at The Cropredy Festival and a live televised concert supporting Dr Hook and Big Country in Battesea Park. Alice has also worked on other projects with artists including singer/songwriters Billy Bragg and Lorraine Bowen, and poet John Hegley.
MIKE COSGRAVE
Guitar/keyboard/accordion/whistle player Mike’s varied musical career includes work with artists as diverse as the late “Celtic Soul” singer Jackie Leven and current star of the English scene Jackie Oates, as well as bluegrass virtuosos Daily Planet and highly regarded singer-songwriter Reg Meuross, but started with renowned late 90s Celtic/World music crossover band Sin é. Sin é worked in situations as diverse as a collaboration with dance group the Jiving Lindyhoppers in New York's Lincoln Center, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London's City Hall (the Mayor’s gaff), parties for Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance show and for Pierce Brosnan's birthday, and numerous festivals including Celtic Connections, Sidmouth, and Rudolstadt.
Sin é's fearless exploration of music from all around the world, but grounded in the Irish traditional music talents of James O’Grady (pipes) and Teresa Heanue and Gerry Diver (fiddle) cemented Mike’s love of Irish trad, recently rekindled in the stellar company of piper Nick Scott, and which he now brings to Dumbo’s Feather.
RICHIE EVANS
Richie Evans is the band's lead vocalist, who also plays bodhran, guitar, bouzouki and harmonica. He was drawn to traditional music in the folk clubs of Inverclyde in Scotland back in the early ‘90’s, where his love of singers such as Dick Gaughan and Christy Moore quickly brought him to the attention of legendary Greenock folk band, The Gaels, when they were looking for a new lead vocalist. Two and a half years of constant performing with the band honed his stagecraft and he was instrumental in forming the much-acclaimed roots rockers Powderfinger, who performed regularly on Scottish and Irish television.
Upon moving to Exmouth in 2006, Richie quickly became a staple of the local music scene, and was responsible for several bands of different genres coming together to take the Devon music scene by storm, including award-winning Americana band The Chicken Slacks, massively popular Motown, Stax and Atlantic soul band Souled, and importantly, one of the most accomplished traditional bands to arise in recent times in the town, in the form of The Maguires. It was through The Maguires that Richie first made contact with fiddler Alice McShane, and when that band went their separate ways, Richie was delighted to be asked by Alice to be part of Dumbo’s Feather, as despite his genre-leaping ways, traditional folk is still what inspires him more than any other form of music.