Summer Nights: Beer belly Band

Beer Belly is a five-piece band from Kranj, whose music covers traditional Irish, Scottish and Celtic culture, from playing well-known traditional songs to lesser-known Irish reels, jigs, Scottish bagpipes and Celtic songs dating back several centuries. They also enrich their programme with their own compositions and Slovenian folk music arranged in a slightly different way. Here and there they also touch on other European cultures. Of course, they are also able to spice up the event with Slovenian popular, folk and folk-entertainment music. A brief history: The band has already performed more than 500 official and at least as many unofficial shows. They have played on big stages almost all over Slovenia, as well as in Austria, Germany and Italy, Croatia and Ireland. They have also performed in front of a large number of distinguished guests from various parts of Europe and have collaborated with various bands from abroad who also play Irish music. They also regularly perform in various bars, especially Irish pubs, where Guinness and Whiskey create an extra Irish-Scottish atmosphere. One of their most high-profile performances in Europe was at Matt Molloy’s Irish Pub in Ireland and at the 8th International Celtic Festival in Trieste, Italy. They have also played as special guests at various concerts. On 21.09.2006 they officially released their first album called ” Noric Kingdom ”, which contains a mix of traditional Irish and Scottish beer and war songs, jigs, reels and their own songs played in a similar way. On 15.3.2008 they released their second album entitled ” Giant Finn MacCool “, which contains a real mix of different musical styles. 6 of the songs on the album are original and the rest are unique arrangements of traditional Irish, Scottish and Slovenian songs. On 17.3.2009 their third album ” Paddy’s Boots ” was released, containing 16 songs exclusively of Irish and Scottish dance music. On 23.4.2011 they released two new albums entitled ” King Of Bellies ” (a mix of European ethno music), and ” Ulala the Dwarf and the Blue Stone ” (a musical story for children). The group collaborates with the Slovenian agency Plahutnik and the Italian agency Folkest. From time to time, the company also cooperates with other agencies from abroad. Special features: The group is distinguished by wearing the traditional Scots-Irish “Great Kilt”, the “Blue Kilt” dress or the characteristic Irish dress with suspenders and an Irish cap. The instruments themselves are an additional attraction of the group, as the combination of mandolin, banjo, guitar, bouzouki, fiddle, pistcali, clarinet, double bass and other instruments that are changed between concerts are not common in many groups around the world.