Trad Lads & Green Steps

Trad Lads was originally formed in 1990 by Martin O’Hare and Peter Sørensen as means to invite different musicians from Ireland to go on tour with them as a source for inspiration as well as keeping in close contact with the tradition. Guests include legendary accordion player Tony McMahon, virtuoso fiddle players Gerry O’ Connor, Dónal O’ Connor, Dermy Diamond, singer Tommy O’ Sullivan and banjo player Jonas Fromseier.
Eventually Trad Lads developed a permanent line-up with Kevin Horan and Bjarne Schmidt joining the two original members.
Martin O’Hare is considered one of the best players of the Irish hand drum, the bodhrán. The bodhrán is the heartbeat in Irish music, and played skillfully and with understanding for the tradition, it enhances the experience of the tunes and the rhythmic structure of the music.
Martin O’Hare, born in Belfast, has been a member of bands such as Ash Plant, Lá Lúgh, Riverdance, Tim O’Briens The Crossing and Mairtín O’Connor’s band Chatterbox.
Peter Sørensen is a formidable fiddle player and connoisseur of Irish music. He is the leader of a weekly Irish jamsession in Copenhagen where young and experienced players meet to play tunes and also meet guest-musicians from Ireland. Peter is one of the first musicians that introduced Irish music to Denmark and has inspired and taught many Danish musicians the Irish tradition. Also in Ireland Peter has gained great respect and has performed on Irish television and radio on numerous occasions.
Kevin Horan delivers a song like the true Dubliner he is. Kevin’s singing is raw talent mixed with experience and a background steeped in Irish singing and music. His vocal is strong and hearty and his repertoire mostly consists of lively ballads.
Bjarne Schmidt, banjo and bouzouki, is living proof that you do not have to be native of a country to understand its music tradition. Bjarne, as Peter Sørensen, is one of the pioneers in Irish music in Denmark. His passion has brought him on countless trips to Ireland to develop his banjo playing to perfection and enjoy the atmosphere of great Irish jamsessions. Especially the legendary Willy Clancy Festival in Co. Clare has been a reoccurring destination.

Green Steps was formed by Marianne Green in 2003 together with Julie Mørk and Christian Hagemann. The trio has performed with great success on stages and festivals at home and abroad. Their style is a combination of the traditional and modern Irish step dancing, as is also seen in famous shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. What is so special about Green Step’s performances is that they bring the dance show into the smaller and more intimate setting of a music concert.
Highlights include: Copenhagen Irish Festival, Kalmar Festival in Sweden, Titano Festival and Skien Irish Festival, Norway, Folkest festival in Italy and Tesserete Irish Festival in Switzerland. The group has also performed on national television programs.
Julie Mørk and Marianne Green are both certified Irish Dance teachers with “An coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha” (Irsh dance commission) and have since 2004 been running a successful Irish dance school, Dark Green School of Irish Dancing. Christian Hagemann has won the Nordic Championship of Irish Dancing two years running for Dark Green.