Common Irish Folk Songs You Should Know

If you are planning on having a St. Patrick's Day party, you are going to need to craft the perfect playlist that will allow people of all ages and musical tastes to enjoy themselves. Here are some tips for making this happen. 

1. Include Some Traditional Irish Folk Songs

Your first step is to make a base list of traditional Irish folk songs. These songs are relatively non-offensive and will be fairly pleasing to everyone. Some common traditional Irish folk songs that you should include on your list are Whiskey in the Jar, Galway Girl, Dirty Old Town, the Ferryman, the Red Rose Cafe, and Red as a Rose. If you are planning on your party going for several hours and are worried that you're not going to have enough music to cover the time, consider looking for covers from different Irish groups. Many musicians are going to cover these songs and they are all going to sound a little bit different, so even if you have doubles of the same song but not the same cover, people aren't going to get bored.

2. Intersperse Irish Rock

Once you have your base set of traditional Irish folk songs, start branching out into more modern music, specifically Irish rock. There are a great deal of popular Irish bands, including the Flogging Mollies and the Dropkick Murphys that produce rock music that have rhythm that are commonly found in traditional Irish music. Once you have a list of these songs, try to have one play for every three or four traditional Irish pieces. This will help keep the mood of the party up and allow you to hold the interest of the younger people.

3. Add Some Instrumentals If You Want to Chill

If you want your party to be more chill than hard rock, consider pulling some instrumental Irish music, such as selections that only feature Irish guitars or mandolins. This will make it easy for you to calm the mood of the party down and help everyone relax. There are a number of selections on streaming sites. You can find related artists on these streaming sites if you only know one or two instrumental Irish musical artists and need more music.

4. Consider Irish EDM

Finally, look into using Irish electronic dance music (EDM) to pop up your playlist and give people something to dance to. Bands such as Shooglenifty could be considered Irish EDM.

For more information, seek out some local Irish musicians by searching them on the Internet and talking to bar owners that have live music regularly.

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