Ceili Rain is a Christian band based in Syracuse, New York that is influenced by Celtic music. It is led by

Bob Halligan, Jr. Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. (born January 3, 1953) is an American singer, musician, music producer and songwriter who has collaborated with many artists, particularly in the hard rock/ heavy metal genre, throughout his career. He is currently the le ...

and was founded in May 1995. As the group's founder, Bob Halligan, Jr. explains, in Gaelic, the word " Céili" (pronounced kay-lee) means "party", specifically one with live musicians, dancing, and general merriment for an all-ages crowd. "Coeli" is a form of the Latin word for "heaven".

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

is English, meaning downpour. Thus, according to Halligan, Ceili Rain is a "downpour of heavenly partiness."

Personnel

Current members

(May 1995–present) — lead vocals, guitar * Joe Davoli (2007–present) — violin, vocals * Raymond Arias (1997–present) — guitar, vocals * Bill Bleistine (2003–present) — drums, percussion, vocals * Kevin de Souza (2008–present) — bass, vocals * Buddy Connolly (May 1996–present) — accordion, keyboards, vocals *

Burt Mitchell Burt is a given name and also a shortened form of other names, such as Burton and Herbert, or a place name. Burt may refer to: People *Burt Alvord (1866–after 1910), American Old West lawman and outlaw *Burt Bacharach (born 1928), American com ...

(2000–present) — pipes, whistles

Former and occasional members

* Matt Mason (full-time 2005–2012) — bass, vocals * Skip Cleavinger (Dec 1997-occasional) — pipes, whistles * John Dreibelbis (2005-occasional) — pipes, whistles *

Tyler Duncan Tyler Duncan (born July 13, 1989) is an American professional golfer. Amateur career Duncan played his college golf for the Purdue Boilermakers. Professional career Duncan played on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2014 where his best finish was ...

(2005-occasional)- pipes, whistles *

Dan Meyer (entertainer) Dan Meyer (born April 7, 1957) is an American sword swallower, multiple Guinness World record holder in sword swallowing, global TEDx speaker, finalist on America's Got Talent, Golden Buzzer finalist on Sweden's Talang, and recipient of the 2007 ...

(2005-occasional) - whistles, swords *

Phil Madeira Philip Kamm Madeira (born 1952) is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island, and attended Taylor University, graduating in 1975. His songs have been recorded by The Civil Wars, Buddy Mi ...

(Jan 1996-May 1996) — accordion, keyboards, vocals * Tim Lauer (May 1995 - Jan 1996) — accordion, keyboards, vocals *

John McGillian John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(occasional) — accordion, keyboards, vocals * Susie Monick (occasional) — accordion, keyboards, vocals *

Gretchen Priest Gretchen (, ; literal translation: "Little Grete" or "Little Greta") is a female given name of German origin that is mainly prevalent in the United States. Its popularity increased because a major character in Goethe's '' Faust'' (1808) has thi ...

(?) — violin, vocals * Chris Carmichael (May 1995 - May 1996) — violin, cello *

Rick Cua Rick Cua (born December 3, 1948) is an American Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author and ordained minister. He is a former member of the Southern rock band, Outlaws, whom he joined in 1980, but left in 1983 to pursue a full-time ca ...

(1995-1997) — bass *

Bob Harmon Robert Green Harmon (October 15, 1887 – November 27, 1961) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played nine seasons in the majors, between 1909 and 1918, for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an ...

(1998-200?) — bass, vocals * Andrew Lamb (1998-2000) — bass, vocals *

Lance Hoppen A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike ...

(1997-?) — bass, vocals *

Daniel Grimsland 3, also known as Three, is an American progressive rock band formed in Woodstock, New York, United States, in the early 1990s. History The band was founded in 1994 as a three piece: Joey Eppard on guitar and lead vocals, Josh Eppard on drums ...

(Sep 2002–2005) — Bass, Vocals *

Paul Grimsland Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

(?) — Guitar, Vocals *

Naoise Sheridan In Irish mythology, Naisi,"Deirdre and Naisi". In: Thomas, Edward. ''Celtic stories''. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1911. pp. 48-60. Noíse or Noisiu (modern spelling: Naoise ) was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of ...

(?) — Guitar, Vocals *Bruce Wallace (?) — Guitar, Vocals *

Tony Hooper Anthony Hooper (14 September 1939 – 18 November 2020) was an English folk singer-songwriter and musician. He was best known as a founder-member of Strawbs together with Dave Cousins and double bassist Ron Chesterman. He left The Strawb ...

(May 1995 – 1997) — guitar, vocals * Rocky Marvel (?) — drums, percussion *

Mark Hagan Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

(?) — drums, percussion *

Nick Buda Nick Buda is a drummer and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Primarily associated with contemporary country music, Buda has been featured on recordings by Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton and Martina McBride, and has also worked with Lion ...

(?) — drums, percussion * Lang Bliss (?) — drums, percussion * Nick Distefano (1995) — drums, percussion * John Daneluk (2003) — drums, percussion *

Chris Eddy Christopher Mark Eddy (born November 27, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He threw and batted left-handed. Biography Eddy attended Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, and Texas Christian University. He ...

(2000) — drums, percussion * Robbie Spangnolitti (2004) — drums, percussion *

Jim Hoke Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

(May 1995) — pipes, whistles * Diane Davitch (1995) — pipes, whistles * John Brown (1995) — pipes, whistles * Diane Davitch (1995) — pipes, whistles *

Hunter Lee Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

(?-1997) — pipes, whistles * Matt Fisher (1997) — pipes, whistles * Sarah Hart (?) — pipes, whistles Patrick Ross fiddle (2003 ?)

Discography

Albums

*''"Say Kay-lee"'' (Punch Records) — (1997) *''We're Makin' A Party LIVE!'' — (1999) Recorded July 30, 1999 at Schouler Park, North Conway, NH directly to D.A.T. from house mixing console. *''Erasers On Pencils''— (2000) *''No You, No Me'' (Cross Driven Records) — (2002) *''Change In Your Pocket'' — (2004) *''Anthology: 1995-2005'' (Tag Artist Group) — (2005) *''Whatever Makes You Dance'' — (2006) *''I Made Lemonade'' - (2009) *''Manuka Honey'' - (2011) *''Hymns & Hers'' - (2014)

Video

*''Anthology: 1995-2005'' (DVD) (Balance Studios) — (2005) *''Like A Train: 2005'' (Music Video) (Music Video of the Year UCMVA Awards)— (Balance Studios)(2005) *''Hallways of Always: 2006'' (Music Video) (Music Video of the Year UCMVA Awards)— (Balance Studios)(2005-2006) *''STOMP: 2005'' (Music Video) — (Balance Studios)(2005)

External links

The official Ceili Rain WebsiteCeili Rain MYSPACE
Celtic music groups American Christian musical groups Culture of Syracuse, New York Musical groups established in 1995 {{US-folk-band-stub