Paddy Keenan with Kevin Buckley at Joe's Cafe!

Paddy is a guy that many of you may have to Google, but if you like traditional Irish music, this is about the best you can see anywhere. He has been called the Coltrane of Irish pipes and is considered the best in the world in his field. Paddy has played Joe's in the past and will have Kevin Buckley on stage to accompany him. Below the Joe's rules is a more expansive bio taken from Paddy's web site.

Normal Joe's rules apply. $15 entry, no cards accepted. Bring your own food and drink. Joe's only sells water, soda and popcorn. Please don't talk during the show. Those disturbing others around them by talking will be warned once and then asked to leave. Talking and smoking outside only please. Don't park on Kingsbury, park on Des Peres only.

Paddy's flowing, open-fingered style of playing can be traced directly from the style of such great Travelling pipers as Johnny Doran; both Paddy's father and grandfather played in the same style. Although often compared to Doran, Paddy was 19 or 20 when he first heard a tape of Doran's playing; his own style is a direct result of his father's tutelage and influence.

Paddy's style continued to mature in the intervening years since the break-up of The Bothy Band as he pursued a solo career. He has brought traditional music to audiences around the globe, playing at festivals including the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo, CeltFest Cuba in Havana, and concert tours across Japan, Europe, Australia, and North America. He is featured on the soundtrack of “Traveller”, starring Bill Paxton and Mark Wahlberg, for which he composed and arranged two pieces of music. In the mid-2000’s, Paddy and singer Liam Ó Maonlaí (Hothouse Flowers) traveled to Mali, west Africa, to embark on a 3,000 mile long journey across the desert to perform at Le Festival au Désert, the world’s most remote music festival, near Timbuktu. In 2008, a documentary of their travels was released. Directed by Dearbhla Glynn, ’Dambé: The Mali Project’, highlights their journey and collaborations with Malian musicians across the Sahara. Recently, Paddy performed at the Irish Embassies in Moscow, Russia and in Tallinn, Estonia.

Paddy’s contributions to traditional Irish music were honoured in 2002, when he received the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Musician of the Year award, which is presented to musical heroes of the modern age, and in 2011 by the Irish Music Association, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.