The great Irish migration to America’s growing urban centers starting in the mid-1800s had a dynamic impact on the traditional music the immigrants brought with them. Bohola

The powerful trio from Chicago, Bohola, Irish music’s newest “supergroup” according to The Irish Herald, believes its name represents how traditional Irish music is handed on in their city and for that matter, the rest of the world. Comprised of accordion master Jimmy Keane, fiddler Sean Cleland, and dordan (a large Irish style bouzouki) player and singer Pat Broaders, Bohola derives its name from a jig and the town in County Mayo from which it was brought to the big-shouldered city. Their driving, muscular, yet emotive playing style will fire you up like a four-lane change on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Pat is a fine, singer, however, and the group’s vocal repertoire reflects a broad understanding of the living Irish tradition. Bohola’s key to their sound is the interplay between the musicians and the approach they take to their music. “It is really the music that counts,” Jimmy says. “We really listen to and respond to each other when we play – bending, twisting, and caressing the music as it flows along. We try to always play from the heart and bring to the audience the core and the spirit of what the music we play and sing is about.”