Fiddlers Green

Traditional Irish and Scottish songs sit alongside self-written tracks in the repertoire of this German group, who play with rock urgency and call their style Irish Speedfolk rather than Irish folk or folk rock. Formed in 1990, the band has let its own material grow steadily less folky over the years. Its influences, though wide, show a clear debt to Celtic rock acts such as the Pogues, the Waterboys and Great Big Sea, and recent albums also carry a strand of Gothic rock.

The group's first show under the name was at the Newcomer-Festival in Erlangen in November 1990, and the self-titled debut arrived in 1992 on their own label, Deaf Shepherd Recordings. Having once been signed to a major label, they later chose independence again. Growing success around Germany brought 1000 concerts by 2004, marked by a show at Castle Hoheneck that was filmed for the DVDs Celebrate! and Jubilate!. Main writer Peter Pathos left in summer 2006, replaced by Patrick 'Pat' Prziwara, and the 20th anniversary in 2010 produced the live DVD Folk's not dead.