Center Stage: Reilly at Shillings

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 5:26 PM CST

Reilly will bring its Celtic rock show Saturday to Shillings Irish Pub, 611 Wisconsin Ave. The show is from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and there is no cover charge.

Formed in 2001 as nothing more than a weekend jam session among several friends, Milwaukee-based Reilly has been keeping the spirit of Celtic culture live all over the Midwest through its own brand of Celtic rock. Six years and two albums later, the band is one of the premier musical draws in southeastern Wisconsin, having been featured at local musical hot spots such as Irish Fest, Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Theater, River Rhythms, Milwaukee’s Bastille Days and the Chicago Scottish Highland Games.

Reilly consists of Michael “Tinker” Tierney on guitar, bouzouki, and vocals; Bruce Troeller on accordion, banjo, mandolin, and vocals; Brian Bruendl on drums and vocals; Chris Carter on bass and vocals; and newest member, Kimberly Unger on fiddle and vocals. Original guitarist and vocalist Patrick Moores occasionally comes out of retirement to sit in with the band.

Self-produced and recorded by the band and multi-instrumentalist Troeller, “Saints of the Ocean” picks up where the band’s debut, “Beyond the Pale,” left off. The album showcases the new level of musical diversity and songwriting maturity that the band has learned from supporting and performing with numerous Celtic musical legends such as Gaelic Storm, Luka Bloom, the Young Dubliners, Carbon Leaf and countless others.

Not content with just being an “album band,” Reilly’s live shows are where the group truly shines. Mixing humor with non-stop energy, audience members are treated to a foot stompin’, raucous, hollerin’ good time. The stage is Reilly’s natural habitat, and the reason for the lion’s share of acclaim the band has received, mixing their high energy originals with traditional and contemporary covers specially “de-ranged” by Reilly for maximum audience enjoyment.

Center Stage appears Thursdays in Out & About. The deadline for submitting information is one week in advance. Band members and/or nightclub owners should send a color or black-and-white photograph, the band’s name and biographical information, name and position of each band member, Web site if available and name and telephone number of a contact person to: Loreen Mohr, The Journal Times, 212 Fourth St., Racine, WI 53403; or send e-mail to: lmohr@journaltimes.com

E-mailed photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi or better).

For more information, call Loreen Mohr at (262) 631-1725.

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