Celtic rock

Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes. Prototypical celtic rock groups include Fairport Co

Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes. Prototypical celtic rock groups include Fairport Convention, a British band who began to combine celtic music with the American folk and blues influenced music that dominated the folk rock scene of the 1960s, and the Irish group Horslips, who in the early 1970s were possibly the first group to have the term 'Celtic Rock' applied to them. Horslips in particular displayed many elements of Celtic rock: traditional Irish/Celtic music and instrumentation, celtic themes and imagery, concept albums based on Irish mythology all powered by driving hard rock. Other early bands who fall under the Celtic rock banner include Sweeneys Men, Pentangle and Steeleye Span. Rock artists that picked up on some of the Celtic rock influence of Horslips and dabbled with the genre include Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore.

Celtic rock is a subgenre of Celtic fusion, an umbrella term for any modern music which incorporates traditional Celtic influences. In the wake following punk music, the London based The Pogues created the subgenre Celtic punk. The Pogues' brand of punked up Irish music has spawned a large number of imitators, particularly in America, that often use the term 'Celtic Rock'. Examples of such groups include Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys.