Ceili Rain is a celtic music influenced Syracuse, New York

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

 based band led by Bob Halligan, Jr., founded in May 1995. As the group’s founder Bob Halligan, Jr. explains, in Gaelic, the word "Céili

Céilidh

In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...

" means "party", specifically one with live musicians, dancing, and general merriment for an all-ages crowd. "Coeli" is a form of the Latin word for "heaven". Rain

Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...

 is English, meaning downpour. Thus, according to Halligan, Ceili Rain is a "downpour of heavenly partiness."

Current members

• Bob Halligan, Jr. (May 1995-present) — Lead Vocal, Guitar
• Raymond Arias (1997—present) — Guitar
• Bill Bleistine (2003—present) — Drums, Percussion
• Kevin de Souza (2008-present) — Bass
• Joe Davoli (2007-present)- Fiddle
• Burt Mitchell (?-present) — Pipes, Whistles

Ex & Occasional Members

• Buddy Connolly (May 1996-occasional) — Accordion, Keyboards
• Skip Cleavinger (Dec 1997-occasional) — Pipes, Whistles
• John Dreibelbis (2005-occasional) — Pipes, Whistles
• Tyler Duncan (2005-occasional)-Pipes, Whistles

• Phil Madeira (Jan 1996-May 1996) — Accordion, Keyboards
• Tim Lauer (May 1995 - Jan 1996) — Accordion, Keyboards
• John McGillian (occasional) — Accordion, Keyboards
• Susie Monick (occasional) — Accordion, Keyboards

• Gretchen Priest (?) — Fiddle
• Chris Carmichael
  Chris Carmichael (musician)
  Chris Carmichael is a musician and arranger born in San Antonio, Texas on July 6, 1962. The son of an Air Force fighter pilot, Chris moved extensively before taking up the violin while living in Hampton, Virginia...
  
  (May 1995 - May 1996) Fiddle, Cello

• Rick Cua (1995-1997) — Bass
• Bob “Buff” Harmon (1998-200?) — Bass
• Andrew Lamb (1998-2000) — Bass
• Lance Hoppen (1997-?) — Bass
• Daniel Grimsland (Sep 2002-2005) — Bass

• Paul Grimsland (?) — Guitar
• Naoise Sheridan (?) — Guitar
• Bruce Wallace (?) — Guitar
• Tony Hooper (May 1995-1997) — Guitar

• Rocky Marvel (?) — Drums, Percussion
• Mark Hagan (?) — Drums, Percussion
• Nick Buda (?) — Drums, Percussion
• Lang Bliss (?) — Drums, Percussion
• Nick Distefano (1995) — Drums, Percussion
• John Daneluk (2003) — Drums, Percussion
• Chris Eddy (2000) — Drums, Percussion
• Robbie Spangnolitti (2004) — Drums, Percussion

• Jim Hoke (May 1995) — Pipes, Whistles
• Diane Davitch (1995) — Pipes, Whistles
• John Brown (1995) — Pipes, Whistles
• Diane Davitch (1995) — Pipes, Whistles
• Hunter Lee (?-1997) — Pipes, Whistles
• Matt Fisher (1997) — Pipes, Whistles
• Sarah Hart (?) — Pipes, Whistles

Albums

• "Ceili Rain" (Punch Records) — (1997)
• We're Makin' A Party LIVE! — (1999) Recorded July 30, 1999 at Schouler Park, North Conway, NH directly to D.A.T. from house mixing console.
• Erasers On Pencils— (2000)
• No You, No Me (Cross Driven Records) — (2002)
• Change In Your Pocket — (2004)
• Anthology: 1995-2005 (Tag Artist Group) — (2005)
• Whatever Makes You Dance — (2006)
• I Made Lemonade - (2009)
• Manuka Honey—(2011)

Video

• Anthology: 1995-2005 (DVD) (Balance Studios) — (2005)
• Like A Train: 2005 (Music Video) (Music Video of the Year UCMVA Awards)— (Balance Studios)(2005)
• Hallways of Always: 2006 (Music Video) (Music Video of the Year UCMVA Awards)— (Balance Studios)(2005-2006)
• STOMP: 2005 (Music Video) — (Balance Studios)(2005)

External links

• The official Ceili Rain Website
• Ceili Rain MYSPACE