One of Ireland’s most accomplished musicians in any genre, Alan Kelly is piano accordionist, composer and arranger utterly at home in his own skin.

Born into the rich musical landscape of Roscommon in 1972, Alan began playing whistle at the age of 5, before moving onto fiddle, piano and accordion 4 years later. Determined to become a full time musician Alan moved to Galway, where he quickly became part of the thriving traditional music scene, forging an excellent reputation for himself.

His critically acclaimed 1997 debut album ‘Out of the Blue’ exploded onto the traditional scene with such impact that he is generally credited with ‘making the piano accordion hip again’. During this time he also recorded and toured with Mancunian Michael McGoldrick on his groundbreaking albums ‘Morning Rory’ 1996 and ‘Fused’ 1999. Also in 1999 Alan toured with Music Network’s ‘Best of Irish’ nationwide tour performing alongside such heavyweights as Cathal Hayden, Karan Casey and Michael McGoldrick.

July 2000 saw the release of Kelly’s second solo album ‘Mosaic’. Produced by Arty McGlynn, ‘Mosaic’s’ South American rhythms and cinematic jazz feel brought Alan’s music to a whole new audience. It showed not just what a good writer he is, but the breadth of his musical imagination. Mosaic’ was voted one of the top ten trad’ albums by both the Irish Times and Hot Press Magazine. Irish Music Magazine also nominated Mosaic for ‘Best Crossover album’ of the year alongside Solas, Afro-Celts, and Sharon Shannon. Alan Kelly and the Mosaic Band quickly established itself as one of the hottest live acts on the Irish scene with its exciting blend of traditional, salsa and jazz rhythms, and propelled Alan onto the World Music stage.

By now, Kelly had firmly established himself as one of Ireland’s top musicians touring with artists such as De Dannan, Arty McGlynn and Eddi Reader. He guested with Lúnasa on their Irish tour promoting their album ‘Otherworld’ and also collaborated with Alison Brown, the Grammy award winning banjo player on her Irish tour in 2001.

A genuine musician, Alan’s playful, experimental approach to music has been described as magical, joyous and uplifting ... always performed with flair and taste. His live show has been described by the Irish Times as “a brilliantly talented, effortless and exuberant performance”. Alan doesn’t just play the accordion, he celebrates it in a way that draws you into the passion he puts into the music he plays.

“an obvious cure for clinical depression, and a lot cheaper than valium”
Irish Times

"worthy of the grandest soiree of the season" 
Hot Press