The Olllam
The olllam were formed in 2012 as a collaboration between legendary Belfast piper John McSherry (Lunasa, At First Light, Ulaid), fellow piper/whistler and Grammy-nominated producer Tyler Duncan (Carly Rae Jepsen, Theo Katzman, Scary Pockets), Michael Shimmin (May Erlewine, Joshua Davis, Millish), and Joe Dart (Vulfpeck). The resulting debut album, now considered a cult-classic (the winner of the 2012 Indie Acoustic Music Award for Best Instrumental Album), is lush with trance-like melodies, stunning instrumental virtuosity and a magical marriage of tradition and technology, finding the listener somewhere between Radiohead and Planxty with the ambient emotionalism of Nick Drake or Explosions in the Sky. Since their first album’s release, the band’s inventive musical compositions arrangements have been earning them sold out shows across Ireland, and were awarded RTE’s 2022 Folk Artist of The Year.