Cormac, Mike, Barry, Lucie, Alessandro and Pete between gigs at the Kilkenny Roots Festival Sun May 6th 2018

Alt-Country n' Roots band Desert Aces play a mix of original compositions, bluegrass standards and country songs that have been known to cause perfectly good, sensible and decent people to leap about stomping their boots and hollering like lunatics.

Who is in the band?

Over the years the band has been a movable feast of musicians.  At the core of the group down in the engine room are the Kehoe Brothers and Pete McGuire: Pete (Banjo/vocals) Mike(Bass/vocals) and Barry(guitar/vocals). The Desert Aces family has grown with Alessandro Giusti on lead guitar/ mandolin and with singer Lucie Kehoe in the mix. We are also working with Cormac Redmond on Cajon/percussion. The Aces will be joined once again by Hugh McCabe this time round on keys for the Fireside Sessions in McHughs in Drogheda. Exciting stuff!

Where did the band name come from?

One hot summers day brothers Mike and Barry Kehoe stood in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park at the shrine dedicated to the memory of Gram Parsons. It was on or near this location that Gram had been cremated. As they stood at the base of a great sandstone boulder scribbled with messages of hope and loss, the silence was torn apart by a silver fighter jet as it buzzed the brothers and flew away across the clear blue sky. They stood there in awe and appreciation of the memory of one of country music's lost and lamented sons and knew that they had a mission to fulfill. They took the name inspired by the desert fly boys and went forth to form a Country Rhythm and Roots sensation.

Albums

Desert Aces with Dave McCune at Ventry Recording Studios

In 2007 they produced their first album of Bluegrass, Old Time and Rhythm n' Roots tunes with Darren Hurley and Camille Champarnaud called: "Spades dig, hearts break, diamonds shine, clubs just beat it." 

The bands second Album  only began recording 11 years later and was released in Nov 2018 titled "Sand and Gravel" with a strong country rock feel akin to the Flying Burrito Brothers or Sweethearts of the Rodeo. The band is already compiling new material for their third album. Happy listening!

Barry in full flight at their first gig in The Front Room at the Kilkenny Roots Festival 2017 with Banjo man Pete on Backing vocals.