Rosheen Information

Founded in 1997 by singer-songwriter Lynn Vallières, the folk group Rosheen now boasts seven members, all blessed with a passion for Celtic music. Rosheen has performed all across Québec, and two years ago made a great impression at the Montreal International Celtic Music Festival. Appearances at other events, such as Le Festival Nouvelle-France in Québec City, have helped spread their reputation across the region. Rosheen has also performed on prestigious stages such as Place D'Youville and Parc Rolland-Beaudin in Ste-Foy where they were welcomed by a warm and enthusiastic audience. What is most remarkable about Rosheen, a Quebec based group, is that they perform the traditional music of Ireland with such authenticity. In February of 2004 CBC-Radio broadcast a live performance by Rosheen from the Capitole de Québec, one of the city's most respected performance venues. The two hours show was heard from coast to coast on the French network and was rebroadcast the next day on CBC's English counterpart. Rosheen and their guests, Paris to Kiev, thrilled 1,200 spectators as well as thousands of radio listeners. Irish Dancing Magazine (Ireland) and Keltika (Italy) have given high praise to Rosheen for their music. The group can already be heard on the air in North America and Europe, and with booking and management deals having just taken place in Canada and America, more focus is being planned for radio. Among many traditional pieces, all done Rosheen style, the group also performs original works by different band members, giving their self-titled CD a particularly original flavour. Jigs, reels and hellish polkas are intertwined with haunting ballads, affording Rosheen a great diversity both as a recording act, and in particular, when performing live in concert. In addition to the crystal voice of Lynn Vallières (recorder and bodhran), six seasoned and versatile musicians make up the band; Michel Hénault (guitar, arranger-composer and writer), multi-instrumentalist Grégoire Painchaud (keyboard, piano, violin, mandolin and arranger-composer), Kattialine Painchaud (violin and harp), François Matte (wooden flute, tin whistle), François Guilbault (double bass and bass) and last but not least Christian Paré (percussion and drums). Rosheen has recently signed a world-wide management deal with Jensen Music International, and have also secured Real Good Music (RGM) of Vail, Arizona as their US booking agency. Dates are already being booked across America, and JMI is working on getting the group to Europe and across Canada in 2005.