Album Notes

The feasting is done, and around the fire sits a group of old friends, laughing heartily, passing around a bottle and trading songs and stories. This is where Featherscale was born, and this is where they come back to every time they play.

Singer Michael Dolan originally recruited drummer Amber Meagher to bring his solo albums Imbolc and Ice and Topaz Stars in a Violet Sky to the live stage. Longtime friend Tim Clark somehow talked his way into the band, and the project began to take on a life of it's own. After a particularly memorable evening one Beltaine, the band convinced Justin Hunt to trade in his guitar for a bass and complete the lineup. Still joining them from time to time are singer Jenna Greene and Robert McClung on mandolin and fiddle.

The band's new album, Gypsy Heart, features 11 original songs with subjects ranging from the wheel of the year and drunken Irish generals to the occasional ghost story. Tracks such as Song for Brighid, Hail and Farewell, and King for a Day (an homage to the 1973 cult film The Wicker Man) put Featherscale right at home among Pagans of any stripe.

Despite this, the band's solid rock grooves and sing-along hooks appeal to a wider audience. With artfully crafted lyrics ranging from the silly to the sublime, their sound weaves together a surprising blend of influences from classic rock and Celtic folk to blues, jazz, metal, and punk. The result is a familiar feeling with both edginess and pop sensibility. Quite simply put, whether the song calls for a soulful violin or screaming electric guitar, this is pure and unashamed, played from-the-gut, rock and roll.