John Whelan

A master of the button accordion, John was raised in the Irish community of Dunstable, England. At age 14, after winning several accordion championships, he recorded his first album “Pride of Wexford” in honor of his father. John moved to the United States in 1980, and began performing with Eileen Ivers as

well as recording with many Celtic musicians and playing all over New England including often at the Boston Comhaltas Society and at Irish clubs in Connecticut. He formed the John Whelan Band in 1997, performing at many folk festivals here in the U.S. and internationally. He appeared as part of the “Once Upon an Accordion” tour and in several films. Altogether John has won seven All-Ireland Accordion championships, and was named Traditionalist of the Year in 1998 by Irish Echo magazine. His album “Come to Dance” was recorded live in John’s hometown church, St. Gabriel’s, in Milford, Connecticut. Some of the hallmarks of his playing style include straight ahead music, solid rhythm and very little embellishment, allowing the traditional melodies to express themselves through the dance. In his recordings John would play like a live session with “no fixes, no second chances, no overdubs, everything is as live as it can be. Sometimes I would check the tracks by dancing to them.” John moved to Washington state where he works as a skilled carpenter and continues to play accordion. His latest album (2020), “Passage of Time” contains 33 of his original compositions. He teaches, performs, holds sessions, and joins with other well-known Irish music legends through the Zoom platform.