The Frothy Band will try to give you a fun night out at the pub by combining two important aspects of Irish culture: a fine beer (such as that found at Imminent Brewing) combined with energetic acoustic Irish music. Imagine yourself out for a pint in a small Irish village. You have a have a great beer on the bar in front of you. Next to you there’s a new friend you’ve never seen before discussing who-knows-what in a barely understandable version of what may be English, and in the corner a ragtag menagerie starts to pull instruments out of well-worn cases. When they start attempting to tune you think maybe it’s time to go. When they start playing you think maybe it’s time to order another pint and stay.

The Frothy Band is composed of some of the liveliest musicians on the Minnesota Irish session scene: Laura MacKenzie (flute, maybe whistle, perhaps the odd song), Matt Wehling (mandolin), Mary Vanorny (fiddle), Paul Wehling (Irish bouzouki), and Tom Klein (the mysterious Irish Uilleann pipes). Cumulatively they have over 163 and two thirds years of experience playing Irish music all over the world. But their hectic touring schedules make it hard for them to all get together in the same room, which makes each of their gigs extra special for them.

About the name: On the one hand “Frothy” refers to the fine bit of head found on a well-poured pint, but it’s also a nod to one of the seminal bands of traditional Irish music, the Bothy Band. For Irish music aficionados “of a certain age,” The Bothy Band were the Beatles of Irish music, the original inspiration to pick up instruments and give Irish music a go. The Frothy Band looks back at that time in their lives when the music was new and recaptures the energy and fun of playing tunes for the sake of playing tunes, enjoying each other’s company, and not because they want to sell a CDs at the break or make it big. It’s just a night at the pub with friends, a few tunes, and a nice pint.