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About John Breen
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John Breen Promo Photo
Photography by Aoife Kavanagh
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John Breen, a native of Arklow, County Wicklow Ireland, has a pure powerful singing style traditional of the likes of the legendary Ronnie Drew infused with a with a hint of Ernest Tubb, an echo of a 1970 Kris Kristofferson and the ghost of Johnny Cash. A passionate singer of well known Irish as well as his original songs, combined with an intriguing blend of contemporary Celtic music, John Breen comes from a pedigree musical background; grandfather Tommy Costello was one of the founders of the Arklow Pipe Band, brother Tommy Breen a founding member of legendary trad/folk group Boru, and his sister Charlotte, who collaborates with John on many of his songs, is a published lyricist in the USA and an Los Angeles Music Awards executive producer award winner.
John Breens' debut self titled album, comprised of vocalist/guitarist John Breen and his band Finan, was a compelling tribute to Irish ballad tradition. On his second album "Origins", John Breen explores this journey of the origins of Celtic music and its evolution. Calling it "Greengrass" music, it traverses the Celtic exodus to America and the pockets of Irish settlers in the Appalachian Mountains, down a melodic path combining Celtic music with Bluegrass music, Old-Time Country music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Country, and Folk. Singing his way from the Wicklow Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains, and bringing it all back home again. |
Origins also includes the amazing musical talents of Tim Crouch, whose credits include, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels, Josh Turner, Hal Ketchum, performing fiddle on country music star Alan Jackson's 2013 "The Bluegrass Album", and bluegrass music star Rhonda Vincent's #1 Billboard 2014 album "Only Me", among many others. Known as one the finest fiddler players in the United States, Tim's skills as a multi-instrumentalist are legendary. Tim is also co-engineer of John Breen's album, Origins.
His 3rd album is titled, "Old Men In Hats", released in 2021 by Emphasis Records in the USA. "Old Men In Hats" is an excellent representation of John Breen's voice, and the summation of the Celtic Nation as a whole, filled with emotion, triumph, good times, loss and the ever present over-coming resilience of the Irish spirit.
All three of John's albums are produced, mixed, and engineered or co-engineered by the award-winning producer Stevie Hawkins. His country music credits include national and international recording artists, Daryle Singletary, Jeff Carson, Razzy Bailey, Jim Ed Brown, Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker, Webb Pierce, Charlie McCoy, Johnny Rodriguez, Cledus T. Judd, among others. Stevie Hawkins background in the music industry spans four decades as a producer, audio engineer, vocalist, touring musician, A&R, composer, and music publisher.
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John Breen Promo Photo
Photography by Aoife Kavanagh
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enlarge }
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