NJPAC - January/February/March 2020

streaming sites. The year also saw a
change in line up when Martin Furey
left the band during the summer tour
in America. Finbarr, Darren and
Brian, did an amazing job completing
the tour as a three piece, their unique
harmonies and stage presence
maintaining the high quality
performance fans had come to expect.
They could have carried on that
way, but management and promoters
wanted them to remain as four for
the remaining dates and brought
George Murphy on board, initially
just to complete the second leg of
the American tour and Canada.
George continued with the band
when the Decade tour went on
the road in December, with tours
continuing through 2018
until spring 2019.
Darren, Brian and Finbarr completed
a very successful tour of shows and
festivals back as a three-piece during
the summer of 2019. Paul O’Brien was
invited to join the band and following
the success of a few shows in Ireland
during the summer of 2019, on their
return from the US, he joined the band
full time ready for the 2109-20
Irish winter tour. The tour broke all
previous records with the ‘Sold Out’
sign going up at most of the venues
well ahead of the shows. Paul has
been a fantastic addition to the
band enabling the classic High Kings
sound with the whistles to be restored.
During the tour, they still found time
to get in to the studio and record a
Christmas single, ‘Christmas the Way
I Remember,’ dedicated to everyone,
everywhere, who was heading home
for Christmas. They also released a
single as a duet with Nathan Carter:
‘May the Road Rise to Meet You,’
recorded for Nathan’s Irish Heartland
album in January 2020.
The High Kings continue to set
the bar extremely high for Irish folk
bands across the world and are
widely regarded to be the standard
bearers for the genre in to the new
decade. After over 12 years at the top
of their game, they are still selling out
venues around the world to an ever
growing army of loyal fans.
Long may they reign.
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