D’Arcy’s Music
D’Arcy has been playing music professionally since 1998. That year, he helped organize the Celtic band Glencoulee, working with a variety of people but mainly with Ian Hepher and Richard Burke; D’Arcy played guitar and bodhran while providing lead vocals. Before it disbanded in 2011, Glencoulee performed hundreds of gigs in Alberta and British Columbia, and produced three CDs: Rare Old Stuff, Meeting of the Waters and Glencoulee Live at the Empress.
D’Arcy had always played as a solo musician and he continued that more aggressively after Glencoulee folded and after he retired from the world of journalism. In 2013, D’Arcy and Ian Hepher reconnected as band members and began performing as Kavanagh & Hepher to significant acclaim. They continue to play their robust mix of Maritime-Irish-Scottish tunes at a variety of venues around Alberta.
D’Arcy remains active with solo work, playing at corporate events, pubs and on special occasions. In addition, he still plays music at seniors’ lodges and hospitals around the greater Lethbridge area, something he has done for more than 35 years.
Here are more details and video about D’Arcy’s music as a solo or duo performer. For bookings, call D’Arcy at 403 380 0319 or send him an email.
Solo Performer:
If you are looking for a solo singer and musician for weddings, receptions, background cocktail entertainment or outdoor BBQs, you may want to consider D’Arcy. He sings, plays the guitar and the bodhran (pictured here in his Kavanagh Tartan).
Bookings for D’Arcy as a solo call 403-380-0319
Duo Performers:
Kavanagh & Hepher:
D’Arcy works often with fellow musician Ian Hepher. Ian plays a multitude of instruments. This duo has performed at events, lounges, pubs, outdoor BBQs, outdoor celebrations, lobsterfests, ceilidh house parties. BTW, they both wear Kilts.
Bookings for Ian as a duo call 403-715-6189
Review by LA Beat of Kavanagh & Hepner
“The Owl Acoustic Lounge featured Celtic music courtesy of D’Arcy Kavanagh and Ian Hepher. I caught them at the end of a set break. They kicked off their next set with D’Arcy Kavanagh singing an excellent version of Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage while Hepher added harmonies and played bouzouki. Hepher took on lead vocals as Kavanagh exchanged his guitar for a bodhran to bang on, which had the crowd clapping along for the next song. They played a varied set ranging from the “ridiculous to the sublime,” according to Kavanagh, including Celtic classics like the “Night Paddy Murphy Died” and more popular numbers like the Proclaimers’ “I Would Walk 500 Miles, which had the crowd singing along.”
Below is a video of clips from a a three-hour pub night in Calgary, Alberta. Pour yourself a Guinness, relax and watch this 15-minute demo (normally with a three-hour event there would be 45-50 songs – we’ve just given you a few to allow you to get your toes tapping and see the range of the Kavanagh & Hepher duo. The video will load based on the speed of your Internet service. (The pub was dark so we lightened the video but if your sound system is good you will enjoy the music.)
Below is a clip of St. Patrick’s Day at Bobby’s Place Old World Tavern, Calgary. They are the regular band at Bobby’s and the crowd really get’s hoping. Depending on the day that St. Patrick’s falls on, you may find them playing in the afternoon and the evening.