Folk Alley Sessions

When you combine the transcendent poetry of Bob Dylan with the gritty, real-world rock-n-roll storytelling that Bruce Springsteen made so famous, and then add a dash of the political activism embodied by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, you’ll have Irish singer-songwriter Pat Byrne. Known for creating a rootsy, Americana sound that has a unique Irish twist, Byrne now lives part-time in the US (he calls Austin, Texas home) and his newest recording, Rituals, reflects his multiple geographical identities. Recorded half in Austin and half in Dublin, Rituals is filled to the brim with the kind of storytelling that everyone can identify with, no matter where you live. In January of 2019, Folk Alley caught up with Pat Byrne at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida for this exclusive session.