Biography
John Skelton is probably best known to American audiences from his work with The House Band, with whom he has recorded 5 albums on the Green Linnet label. He has also released a solo album, One at a Time, on Pan Records, Holland's leading acoustic music label. John has performed at all the major folk festivals in North America and Europe and has given concerts in over 20 countries. He is also an experienced flute teacher and has taught at summer schools in North America, Europe, and Africa.
John's roots lie in Irish traditional music. His grandfather and great-grandfather were flute and tin whistle players. He was born in London and returned there to live during the seventies. This was a "golden period" for Irish music in London. Bobby Casey, Roger Sherlock, Raymond Roland, Danny Meehan and many others were out playing and it was in this "hothouse" of great music that John spent his formative years. He first began to play professionally with the Irish band Shegui, and for six years he toured throughout Europe with them. That band included pianist/fiddler John Coakley (later of The Boys of the Lough), fiddler Tommy MacCarthy (now a leading light in Boston's Irish scene), and singer Sean Keane (brother of the great Irish singer Dolores Keane).
He joined The House Band in 1987 and since then has been a central figure in that band's success. He has toured the world with them, and on stage, his marvelous introductions and stories of life on the road have become central to their concerts, with one American newspaper gong as far as to refer to him as "the English Garrison Keillor!" He is, however, better known as an accomplished and distinctive flute player.
Alongside his background in Irish music, John also has a wealth of knowledge of the music of Brittany. He spends much time there and is a highly regarded player of the bombarde (the traditional oboe-like instrument from Brittany). He was recently described as "the finest bombarde player outside of Brittany" by NPR's Thistle and Shamrock radio show. John also plays the "piston" (low bombarde) and the "veuze" (the bagpipe of Eastern Brittany).
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