Description

His passionate and compelling voice is what they notice first. As a solo artist~ Ken O’Malley easily commands the room; with his band he also rocks the house. Quickly drawing the audience in~ it is no wonder that the Irish News describes him “without question~ as the single most enduring~ influential and proficient of all Irish musicians in Southern California” and the University of St. Thomas at Houston acknowledges him to be "widely regarded as the finest Irish folk singer/songwriter in the United States today."

Arriving in Los Angeles from Ireland over 30 years ago~ Ken O’Malley was immediately offered a spot at Molly Malone's~ the legendary Irish venue in the city's Fairfax district~ and he hasn't stopped playing since. Through the years~ O'Malley has performed solo and as part of The Mulligans~ Blended Spirits and~ currently~ The Twilight Lords. He's shared bills with such artists as Mary Black~ The Chieftains~ The Saw Doctors~ Michael Flatley and Pierce Brosnan and continues to be an ever-popular and near legendary constant on Southern California's Celtic music circuit. In addition to his musical performances~ he can also be found on stage and screen in productions ranging from Ray Bradbury’s “Falling Upward” to the Paramount Pictures feature “Patriot Games”.

Indeed~ Ken O’Malley was born to perform. In Dublin at the age of 15~ he opened for legendary balladeer Paddy Reilly at the equally legendary Old Sheiling Pub. By the time he turned 18~ he was gathering professional credits~ among them a stint with Trudy's People~ a group he formed that played Gaelic shows on RTÉ~ Ireland's national radio and television network. His fluency in the Gaelic language was earned from his education by the Christian Brothers and his summers in the West of Ireland.

A true ambassador of Irish culture~ he infuses every performance with the rich history of his native land and audiences quickly become engaged with his compelling stories. One show producer put it this way: “He holds nothing back. Whether singing a passionate ballad~ playing a solo on the mandolin~ or explaining the gloriously sad history of Erin his homeland~ Ken O’Malley is all-in~ wide open to the world~ and as true as an arrow’s flight.” Another simply stated that “Ken O'Malley connected with our audience in a way none of our other artists have.”

His first CD~ “The White Seahorse~” stands as a masterful homage to traditional Irish music enhanced with solid rhythms~ acoustic and electric instruments matched by the powerful vocal energy that is the hallmark of a Ken O'Malley performance. The follow up release~ “Women of Ireland~” continues to showcase O'Malley's irresistible blend of Celtic traditional~ American roots rock and eclectic world beat~ this time before an enthusiastic live audience at the Celtic Arts Center in Hollywood.

O'Malley's most recent release~ is appropriately titled ÓMáille~ his name in Gaelic and demonstrates O'Malley's considerable strength as a solo artist. These traditional arrangements~ though spartan~ brilliantly bring the music of his heritage to life. Dave Soyars of the Irish Herald writes: "His powerful and emotive voice shines through on everything he does~ but here he's the instrumental star as well~ with precise but driven acoustic rhythm guitar and solid rhythm and tunes-playing on mandolin."

"If I've made people happy with my performances~" says O'Malley~ "that's success to me."

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