Critically acclaimed, genre-defying Irish-American supergroup, the olllam, has announced an exciting 12-date UK and Ireland tour for early 2025.
Known for their trailblazing blend of traditional Irish instruments with long, cyclical melodies, fusing jazz, and psych-post-rock, the olllam continues to push musical boundaries. This tour again features Scotland’s whistle ace Ross Ainslie up front with Irish piper John McSherry, while bass supremo Joe Dart (Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers), Detroit drummer Michael Shimmin and keyboard player Joe Hettinga all return, joining Limerick guitarist Seán O’Meara.
“… the result is described by them as Neo-Acoustic Celtic Post-Rock. I’d describe it a little differently – it’s f***in’ deadly!” – The Irish Times
The 2025 tour follows sell out shows at Glasgow Barrowlands during Celtic Connections and at London’s Jazz Cafe in 2024. It comes on the heels of the band’s recent collaboration with Grammy-winning electronic artist Zedd* with the track Sona from his latest album Telos due for imminent single release.
The Glasgow concert is part of and the Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester dates are presented by Through The Noise.
2025 Tour Dates:
30-Jan – Sheffield, Leadmill
31-Jan – Leeds, Project House
01-Feb – Glasgow, SWG3
02-Feb – Newcastle, Boiler Shop
05-Feb – Liverpool, Content
06-Feb – Birmingham, Rmbl
07-Feb – Bristol, Trinity
08-Feb – Manchester, Band on the Wall
09-Feb – London, Earth Hackney
10-Feb – Cambridge, Junction
12-Feb – Limerick, Dolans
13-Feb – Dublin, Vicar Street
14-Feb – Cork, Cyprus Avenue
16-Feb – Belfast, Mandela Hall
2024 marked an exciting change for the olllam as they welcomed renowned Scottish musician Ross Ainslie (Whistles, bagpipes) to the line-up, replacing founding member Tyler Duncan – increasingly in demand elsewhere as a producer. Ainslie proved to be the perfect addition, bringing his distinctive skills whistle to the band, enhancing the already intricate interplay with John McSherry on the long, cyclical melodies for which the olllam is famous.
the olllam are:
John McSherry (Uilleann pipes, whistles)
Ross Ainslie (Whistles)
Michael Shimmin (Drums)
Joe Dart (Bass)
Joe Hettinga (Keys)
Seán O’Meara (Guitar)
*Collaboration with Zedd
The Band recently collaborated with global superstar Zedd on his latest album Telos, contributing their unique sound to the track Sona. This unexpected partnership blends the olllam’s traditional instrumentation and unusual time signatures with cutting-edge electronic music, marking a new chapter in the olllam‘s journey and broadening their appeal to new audiences worldwide.
For tickets and further information please visit: www.theolllam.com/lllive
