The Ridge ★

The band formed during a brutal winter in a small pub outside Clifden along the rugged Atlantic coast. Liam and Cormac were playing acoustic acoustic gigs for tourists when Aoife walked in, plugged her fiddle straight into a cranked tube guitar amplifier, and shattered the quiet room with a distorted rendition of a traditional reel.

Recognizing they had tapped into something visceral, they recruited Rory and Maeve from Dublin's underground punk circuit. Named after the contrast between the industrial rust of Galway's docks and the ancient rock ridges of the Connemara landscape, The Ridge built a grassroots following playing sweat-drenched pub shows across Ireland before breaking onto international festival circuits. Their signature style are relentless driving rhythms, blistering fiddle leads, and lyrics about chasing ghosts on the edge of the world.