Switchback (band)

Switchback is an American music duo (Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack) active since 1993. Allmusic describes them as a mix of bluegrass, Americana and traditional Celtic music. 

In 1986, FitzGerald was a mandolin student of Jethro Burns and had already been touring with Clifton Chenier when he met McCormack, an award-winning voice student of Whelma Oshiem at the American Conservatory of Chicago and a member of the Star Search selected band Beyond Blue. They were both chosen by County Kerry composer and concertina master Terrence 'Cuz' Teahan to join his traditional Irish group. Teahan taught FitzGerald and McCormack the old country techniques of Irish musical entertainment, making them one of the last generations to be directly influenced by a master of this musical genre. 

 

By 1988, shortly after Teahan's death, the duo continued his musical legacy by joining forces with banjo great Bert McMahon of Woodford and County Galway & Chicago fiddle legend Mary McDonagh in forming the Wailin' Banshees. Their first album was a commercial success with Chevrolet using one of the songs to promote the Chevy Blazer automobile. Their music eventually reached the ear of Grammy-winning producer Lloyd Maines, who proceeded to produce several albums for the band including "The Fire That Burns", which was selected as one of Performing Songwriter Magazine's top choices for 2003.  Throughout this time, the duo managed a heavy touring schedule, opening for such acts as The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, Lee Greenwood, John Hartford, and Beausoliel. 

 

The duo never forgot their Irish roots as Switchback continues to cultivate a following performing live at concerts and festivals.  Playing in over 200 engagements a year, they have performed at festivals like Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Nova Scotia to the Summer Celebration in Michigan (where they performed for an audience of 15,000). Switchback has shared the stage with such notable Celtic musicians as Cherish the Ladies, Gaelic Storm, Liz Carroll, and John Williams. They tour Ireland annually and frequently performed at the Westport, County Mayo pub owned by The Chieftain's Matt Malloy, who often appears there as well. They have performed at the 3,400-seat Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana and the intimate and famous venue, the Bluebird Café of Nashville, Tennessee. 
 
Switchback's music is frequently played on radio stations such as RTÉ Radio One with Pat Kenny in Dublin, Ireland and can also be seen on Public Broadcasting Television stations throughout the United States.

Recognition, memberships, and awards
 Irish Music Association: Top Duo in a Pub, Festival or Concert (US, IRE, EU, UK) 2008
 Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Roster
 Illinois Arts Council Artist in Education
 Iowa Arts Council Performing Artist roster
 North American Folk Alliance Member
 Americana Music Association Member
 ASCAP-Plus Awards Recipient 2005–present

Instrumentation
 Brian FitzGerald: guitar, mandolin, vocals
 Martin McCormack: bass, guitar, vocals

Co-musicians:
 Nick Hirka: drums, banjo, bodhran, ukulele
 Keith Riker: percussion, bodhran, native American flute, harmonica
 Takeshi Horiuchi: bodhran, percussion

Collaborations
The following are some of the notable acts Switchback has performed with:

 Bryan Bowers
 Dale Watson
 Kansas
 Leon Russell
 Lloyd Maines
 The Moody Blues
 Tempest

Discography
 Ain't Going Back - 1994
 Check on Out - 1995
 Seven Rowdy Irish Tunes (and Two Sad Ones!) - 1996
 Good Church - 1997
 Dar's Place - 1998
 Nancy Whiskey - 2001
 The Fire That Burns - 2002
 10th Anniversary Collection - 2003
 Bolinree - 2005
 Falling Water River - 2006
 Ghosts of the River Folk - 2010
 Kanoka - 2013
 The Hibernian Mass - 2015

DVDs

 Celtic Sessions Vol. 1 and 2 (made from the PBS special of the same name)
 Americana Sessions Vo1. 1 and 2 (made from the PBS special of the same name)
 Turf Fire

References

External links
Official site

American musical duos