In May of 2020, in the haze of “waiting for more information,” We Banjo 3’s David Howley set his cup of coffee down on the piano lid, played one chord, and the first line of their new song “Gift Of Life” popped right out—“Over the ditch and into the wilds.”
“I sat there in the grips of realizing a fear of failure can keep you on the ‘safe path,’ but what about the woods? There’s a lot of life to be lived under the trees,” says Howley, remembering the energy he channeled into the tune. “The song came from trying to convince myself that sometimes you might have to stumble into the unknown and trust yourself to choose the right turns.” A pretty, six-string strummer at its onset, “Gift Of Life” steadily gains instrumentation throughout its four and a half minutes, eventually culminating in a poppy groove adorned with horns and interjecting banjo and mandolin lines before one last refrain; “Maybe the gift of life is living / The treasure is the quest.” Yesterday, JamBase premiered the single, and today, fans can give “Gift Of Life” a listen right here.
Containing two sets of two brothers—Enda & Fergal Scahill and David & Martin Howley—We Banjo 3 have built their legacy on seamlessly combining the virtuosity and precision in Irish and American music’s traditional disciplines with the artful song-craft and infectious live performance of today’s musical landscape. Their upcoming album Open The Road—out July 15th—meets on the corner of complex-but-nimble instrumentation and magnetic, well-crafted songs; a combination of which their fans have been enjoying from studio to stage since the band first landed on American shores ten years ago. Hear Open The Road’s previously-released single, “Hummingbird,” at this link and pre-order or pre-save Open The Road ahead of its July 15th release right here. For more information, please visit webanjo3.com.
Open The Road Tracklist:
Hummingbird
Garden Song
Long Way Down
Heart In Hand
Open The Road
Rialto
Gift Of Life
The First Second Gentleman
Alive With You
Believe In Us
Catch We Banjo 3 On Tour:
June 17 - Dayton, OH - Levitt Pavilion
June 18 - Lakeside, OH - Lakeside Chautauqua: Hoover Auditorium
June 19 - Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage (Culture Center Theater)
June 23 - Memphis, TN - Overton Park Shell (formerly Levitt Shell)
June 24 - Owensboro, KY - ROMP 2022
July 16 - Oak Hill, NY - Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2022
July 19 - Rockport, MA - Shalin Liu Performance Center
July 20 - Natick, MA - Center For Arts In Natick
July 29 - Ventura, CA - Ventura Music Festival 2022
July 30 - Denver, CO - Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
July 31 - Lyons, CO - RockyGrass Festival 2022
Aug. 1 - Crested Butte, CO - Center for the Arts Crested Butte
Aug. 3 - Portsmouth, OH - Vern Riffe Center for the Arts
Aug. 5-7 - Dublin, OH - Dublin Irish Fest 2022
Aug. 9-10 - Bethlehem, PA - MUSIKFEST
Aug. 12 - St. Paul, MN - Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022
Aug. 13 - La Crosse, WI - IrishFest La Crosse 2022
Aug. 14 - St. Paul, MN - Irish Fair of Minnesota 2022
AUG 19 - 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Irish Fest
Sept. 2-4 - Kansas City, MO - Kansas City Irish Festival 2022
Oct. 21 - Frederick, MD - Weinberg Center For The Arts
Oct. 22 - Manteo, NC - Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival
2023 (Rescheduled) Tour Dates:
Jan. 27 - Sacramento, CA - The Sofia
Jan. 29 - Berkeley, CA - Freight & Salvage
Feb. 1 - Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum Theater
Feb. 2 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
Feb. 3 - Wickenburg, AZ - Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 4 - Chandler, AZ - Chandler Center for the Arts
For all tour dates and ticket information, please visit webanjo3.com/tour
