Lost Brothers return to Solstice with special guests

After their hugely successful sold-out concert last year The Lost Brothers, which includes Navan’s Oisin Leech, are back for more. They are returning to play a very special concert at The Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, on Wednesday 9th December, after an extraordinary two years on the road .
Special guests joining them include Terry Woods from The Pogues, Red Queen Contest and Simon Fagan.
The band have had a packed schedule in 2015 seeing their new album reach number four in the Irish Album Charts. This year alone has seen them tour the US twice and last month they toured Europe from Hamburg to Milan with Oscar winner Glen Hansard.
After performances on RTE’s 'The Imelda May Show’, 'Other Voices’ and 'The Saturday Night Show’ the band has been selling out venues far and wide internationally. Their hell raising set at Glastonbury this year even landed them a great live review in The Guardian and many other major newspapers which has put the band on a new level.
Over seven years The Lost Brothers have proven themselves to be one of the finest and hardest working bands around.  With four highly acclaimed albums under their belt they have been championed around the world by the likes of The Guardian, the BBC, NME, and The Irish Times to name but a few.
 Since the release of their Portland recorded debut in 2007 they have have toured extensively and now they are returning to play The Solstice Navan.
In their music the influences of songsmiths such as Van Morrison, The Beatles and Christy Moore can be heard. However it’s from The Lost Brothers’ commitment to writing timeless crafted songs that comes something completely unique, with well-hewn melodies and compelling lyrics that bring you down unexpected roads.
With the other Lost Brother Mark McCausland being from Omagh their new album has been shortlisted this month for The Northern Ireland Music Award and they perform alongside The Divine Comedy and Therapy at the awards. This summer they were tipped as one of the highlights of Electric Picnic and they played to a packed out arena.
“The last 24 months have been a bit of a whirlwind” explains Navan’s Oisin Leech.
”We have gigged in Russia, toured all over Europe, and we have played dozens of gigs across the US. Now I’m very excited about coming home to play the Solstice on December. I love coming home to Meath, whether it’s walking the river Boyne or visiting Tara or catching up with pals in the local.”
As musicians and songwriters Oisin Leech and Mark Mccausland have recorded and gigged alongside the likes of Richard Hawley, Imelda May, Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon, Glen Hansard and many more. However they didn’t get there overnight.
“I used to sing as a kid at Scoil Mhuire Christmas concerts and then in St Pat’s too later on,” Oisin explains. “My school uniform was always too big for me so I remember pulling up my trousers half way through a solo of 'Silent Night.’”
“Eventually I formed my first band when I was 15 in Athlumney. It was a punk band called The Vermin. I got three guitar lessons from local hero Joe Beggy and I was off. We did our first gig in Penny Lane and four people turned up. Then we played O’Mahonys and ten people turned up. We were on a roll!
“I was captain of OMP football club for a while but the guitar soon took over and I stopped turning up to matches. I really miss the football now.”
From there, Oisin went busking in Dublin and all over Europe for six years eventually getting a record deal in Liverpool.
“It’s been a fun journey and it feels great to be bringing the music home to Navan in December. Navan has such a great musical heritage whether it’s Jimmy Smyth, the Byrne family, Paul Clarke or any of the countless brilliant sessions that happen each night in any of the local pubs with so many great local musicians. Ludlow Street is like New Orleans ! There are so many sessions each night ! Not enough people realize how much music there is in this town. I often sit in on the Sunday sessions in Beggys or Birminghams when I’m home. My sister Saramai has a wonderful EP out this month. There’s always something great going on.”
“The Solstice is such a beautiful local venue too and it belongs to Navan and to Meath. We are proud to be bringing these songs back home because we wrote a lot of the songs here in the town. I hope the people of Navan and Meath as a whole come down because we have a few surprises in store,” continues Oisin.
“To have the legendary Terry Woods coming to play the Navan gig is such a gift. Terry still tours in The Pogues and Sweeneys Men. He played on all those great Pogues albums including the legendary track 'Fairytale Of New York’. He was in a band with Phil Lynott way back! To have him playing with us will be great fun and and an honour. He is musical royalty and has toured all his life.”
Local band Red Queen Contest is also playing. “Such a great band. Their new songs are amazing too,” says Oisin. Joining the Navan performers will be Simon Fagan from Athlumney, currently based in Germany.
Over the years Roddy Doyle, Glen Hansard, Brendan Benson, The Frames, Billy Bragg, John Prine, Squeeze, Christy Moore, The Waterboys have all lined up as fans of The Lost Brothers, so who knows who else might turn up on 9th December.
Roddy Doyle recently said: “The Lost Brothers are beautifully unique. I love them”. On 2FM a few years back, Mike Scott from The Waterboys said: “If there’s any justice under the moon and the stars the Lost Brothers will come through!” Now in 2015 The Lost Brothers are coming through.
Tickets are available from  the Navan Box Office on (046) 909 2300 or www.solsticeartscentre.ie. More info is at www.thelostbrothersband.com