Shillelagh Law profile picture

Shillelagh Law

Breaking music stereotypes for 10 years!

About Me

Shillelagh Law is an acoustic Pan-Celtic stable-band, that was founded in 1997, and is based in Missouri. Pan-Celtic means we try to cover a range of Celtic musical traditions instead of just sticking to Irish, Scottish, or Welsh music. The music of any country where a Celtic tribe once ruled, or rebelled, is fair game. Stable-Band is a play on the fact that most of the music we sing predates the term “Garage.” Unlike many “girl” groups, Shillelagh Law does not limit our repertoire to pretty love songs. We sing a gamut of music that ranges from drinking songs to war songs, and, love songs to hymns.

Since Shillelagh Law specializes in period historical festivals, we strive for authenticity in our music. We reject songs with modern references in favor of timeless traditional tunes. Several of our standard songs actually date from the 14th and 15th centuries. However, in the right setting, we've been known to throw out some mean Simon & Garfunkel, too. This, along with our irreverent stage presence and delightful interactive banter, serves to give audiences an experience they don't soon forget.

We perform in a variety of venues, including festivals, churches, schools, parties, pubs, and occasionally random street corners. As a group we pride ourselves on the simple artistry of the combination of voice, flute, and drum, in a style that is as pure as the harmonies we create.

The group consists of Kristin Hacker-Hickman (singer, percussion), Karin Hacker (bodhran, spoons, sickle, other odd instruments, singer), Sarah Hacker (whistles, flutes, percussion, singer) and Jennie Nichols (singer, tambourine). Amongst us we have over 150 years of performing experience.

The group got its start on the bridge into the SCA Dell at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Kristin sang and Karin played bodhran. They were SCA volunteers. In 1997, Gina DeBarthe joined Kristin and Karin when they turned professional under the name Shillelagh Law. In 1998 Gina left the group and Sarah joined. In 1999, Jennie joined the group.

Our first CD, “Songs from the Bridge” came out in 2001.

GOT SHOTS?

If you've take pictures of us at one of our live shows, and you'd like to share them on our site, feel free to contact us. We'll be happy to post them with a photo credit for you!

NEW ADDITIONS

The bottom row of our Top 28 is now dedicated to new members of the Shillelagh Law family! So everyone there is a recent addition. Stop by, say Hi!, compare notes, and let us know what you'd like to see from our group in the future!

Links


Find out more about us on these websites:
    Our homepage. Our ReverbNation artist profile. Our Facebook ReverbNation artist profile. Our Facebook fan page. Our Facebook friend page. Our Yahoo! Group. Our Yahoo! Group links page.

If you like Yahoo Groups you can sign up for our group by clicking this logo.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/6/2006
Band Website: shillelaghlaw.com
Band Members:

Kristin Hacker-Hickman: Singer - Soprano/Alto - Kristin has been singing on stage since the age of 2. She is the front woman for the band, using her years of theater experience to keep the shows moving and upbeat. Along with her sister, Karin, she formed the group in 1997.


Karin Hacker: Percussion and Vocals - Karin played trumpet from 5-11 grade but what she really wanted to play was drums. In 1989 she bought a bodhran and took one class and there was no stopping her after that. She recently added the sickle to her mixed bag of other percussion instruments. She spent most of her life letting Kristin do all the singing, but when they formed the band in 1997, she stepped forward and is now the featured soloist on several songs.


Sarah Hacker: Whistles, Flute, and Vocals - Sarah is the mom of the group, literally (Karin and Kristin are her daughters). She has been playing the transverse flute for almost 50 years. Five years ago she picked up her first tin whistle and its been surgically attached to her hand ever since. She takes all requests, except the one to stop playing. Her considerable musical talent extends to singing as well.


Jennie Nichols: Singer - Soprano - Jennie joined the group in 1999. She has been singing for most of her life as well. She brings a level of technical expertise, due to her formal training in music theory. She has composed several songs for the group, and often arranges harmonies.


Kailey Aman: Vocals and Nanny - While not yet, technically, a full member of the group, Kailey has been helping us out with A.J. since 2005. Kailey's mom was one of Sarah's Girl Scouts, so she's been a member of the family since she was born. Kailey is active in theater and music at her high school. She's president of the Drama Club, and she's a member of the elite show choir. Her family is active in black powder re-enactments, and she's often called on to sing at their Rendezvous. She is working on learning the guitar and the whistle, and, once she's ready, she's going to be a welcome addition to the Shillelagh Law show.



Influences: Connie Dover; Scartaglen; Bob Reeder; The Elders; The Clancy Brothers; Seamus Ennis; The Irish Rovers; Battlefield Band; The Thistle & Shamrock; Simon & Garfunkel; Sonic Spectrum
..
Sounds Like: A bloody fine Irish wake.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Mikals Song (rough draft)

I have finally gotten the MP3 of Kristin's song about Mikal the Ram uploaded to our ReverbNation page.The following link will launch a window and play the song:http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/7481...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:31:00 PST

Playing around...

Karin has purchased a new portable digital recorder, and we've been playing around with it.I've made a rough draft (a.k.a. scratch track) recording of a new piece called "Mikal's Song" in honor of a f...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:14:00 PST

New mix for June

Here is a new tunepak for June:http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/502027It contains links to the following songs:Kilgara Mountain by Shillelagh LawJolley Tinker by Boiled in Lead from ...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:00:00 PST

May Music Picks

Here is a new tunepak for May:http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/478393It contains the following songs:Follow Me Up To Carlow by Shillelagh LawLord Of The Pounce by our friend Marc Gunn from Austin, ...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Tue, 20 May 2008 12:33:00 PST

ReverbNation

Hi all,If you are a fan of music there is yet another social networking site you might want to check out. It is ReverbNation. Our ReverbNation page is: http://www.reverbnation.com/shillelaghlawIf you...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:40:00 PST

The Other Shillelagh Law

I'm sure all of you are shocked to discover that there is more than one group out there with the name Shillelagh Law... but yes, it's true.  Apparently we Celtic musicians aren't nearly as creati...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:09:00 PST

Performance Ideas

Many people are not aware, but in addition to our broad range of Irish and Celtic music, Shillelagh Law has a rather substantial repetorie of sacred and holiday music.As we're coming into the holiday ...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:25:00 PST

KCRF

So, we've spent the last two days at KCRF, working with our friends in the Institute for Historic Educational Arts (IHEA) at the blacksmith forge.It's been a lot of fun, and a little sad.Today I spent...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:51:00 PST

St. Louis wrap up

Ahhh, what can I say?The Pirate Festival was inspiring.  That's the best word for it.We've been bouncing around not really doing much with the band for almost 10 years now.  But during this ...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:51:00 PST

In memoriam - for Angus

CROSSPOSTED FROM KRISTABEL'S BLOG:The world has lost a dear man today, and I have lost a friend.Mike O'Reilly, known to me and most of his friends as Angus, passed away today shortly before 1 p.m.My f...
Posted by Shillelagh Law on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:21:00 PST