Solas (group)

This article is about the Irish traditional group. For the Irish liturgical group, see Solas (liturgical group). For other uses, see Solas (disambiguation).

Solas
Solas live in 2010
Background information
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Folk Celtic
Years active	1996–2016
Labels	Compass Records Shanachie Records
Members	Séamus Egan Winifred Horan Mick McAuley Éamon McElholm Moira Smiley
Past members	Karan Casey John Williams John Doyle Deirdre Scanlan Mairead Phelan Niamh Varian-Barry Noriana Kennedy

Solas (Irish: light) was an American musical group officially formed in 1996, playing Irish traditional music as well as original compositions that dabble in the country, rock, and americana genres. The band announced an indefinite hiatus in early 2017.

Their name comes from an Irish word meaning "light". At the time, the band was made up of Séamus Egan, who had already recorded two solo albums as well as a soundtrack to a film; Winifred Horan, a member of Cherish the Ladies; John Doyle, previously a member of Susan McKeown & The Chanting House with Egan; Karan Casey and John Williams.

In June 2008 the band announced Mairead Phelan had joined the group as their new singer. In September 2010, Niamh Varian-Barry from Cork replaced Mairead Phelan as lead singer of Solas. On July 11, 2013, they announced on their Facebook page that Niamh was leaving the band and that Noriana Kennedy would be replacing her.

Discography

• 1996 — Solas
• 1997 — Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers
• 1998 — The Words That Remain
• 2000 — The Hour Before Dawn
• 2002 — The Edge of Silence
• 2003 — Another Day
• 2005 — Waiting for an Echo
• 2006 — Reunion: A Decade of Solas
• 2008 — For Love and Laughter
• 2010 — The Turning Tide
• 2013 — Shamrock City
• 2016 — All These Years

External links

• Solas discography at Discogs