John Reynolds
John Reynolds is most often heard playing the fiddle with his wife Margie Mulvihill – in the “Pride of Moyvane Ceili Band” at céilithe and festivals. He’s been playing professionally for almost 40 years – since first playing for dancing competitions at the feiseanna in the New York area. John studied music with the late Roscommon box player John Glynn and later with Galway fiddle player Pete Kelly. His playing is strongly influenced by Sean McGuire. John won an All-Ireland Fleadh medal for his solo fiddle playing in Listowel Co. Kerry in his youth among an impressive line up of familiar musicians in that competition like Meave Donnelly and Frankie Gavin who are all still big on the scene today.
In the early 1980s, John started an almost 20 year association with Dublin-born ballad singer Michael Jesse Owens – a gig that started out by filling in for box-player John Nolan, who had been a fellow John Glynn student. Aside from playing lively trad music with Jesse’s band, John developed his skills for backing up Irish and folk ballads and songs of all types. Those skills have been for many years – and still are – in demand in the ballad and showband scene.
In the late 1990s, John joined the traditional group Morning Star – where he met his wife Margie Mulvihill – one of the founders of the group. The group recorded four CD’s two of which feature John on fiddle, viola and mandolin and they even got him to sing. Margie and John have raised a family of talented musicians in their daughters Erin, Blaitin, Neidin Loughran and son John Paul Reynolds. The family was featured on the HBO series “The Music in Me”. John has played on TG4 and RTE Fleadh TV, he is an entertainer on JOANIE MADDEN’S FOLK & IRISH CRUISE this coming May for the fourth year in a row where John will be delighting audiences with his fiery solo fiddle playing as well as his tasty backing of songs and playing for the set dancers and he may surprise us all again as he did last year with another song or two. Wherever you go John is the busiest man in the crowd. His sensitive fiddle playing and years of experience with all kinds of music make him a fantastic sound person. He has a big heart and everyone calls on John for benefits and functions of all kinds to play his fiddle and work as a soundman at the board. John has recently retired from the FRB and looks forward to having more time to dedicate to his musical endeavors. John and wife Margie were both inducted into Comhaltas Hall of Fame in 2011.
From the Artistic Desk