Sean McCabe came to New York City in 1994 with the intention of putting together an Irish band with fiddles, accordions, mandolins, banjos, guitars, and of course, drums and bass. Inspired by the work of Steve Earl, especially the album ‘Train A Comin’, Sean felt he could forge a country/old-timey sounding band, singing songs with Irish themes. Sean was also inspired by the work of Irish writers James Joyce and Patrick Kavanagh, both of whom were inspired by their hometowns to create their masterworks.

Sean McCabe

Having never played guitar before, Sean bought a used one in a trinket shop, spent six months learning his first few chords and took it into the Times Square subway station. Initial reactions were not very encouraging, but Sean kept at it, singing the old Irish songs, and throwing in a couple of his own for good measure. His performing skills improved and soon his busking effort was paying the rent for his tiny room in Brooklyn.

Sean’s first gig, a year after he arrived in New York, was on Saint Patrick’s Day, 1995, aboard a yacht along the shores of The Hudson, with an accordeon and banjo player. Soon this trio, with the aid of a fiddler, was playing in pubs all over the five boroughs. It wasn’t long before a drummer and a bass player were added, and the band, calling itself The Prodigals, (after another busking band that Sean had been involved with in Paris called The Prodigal Sons), recorded its first CD. This band began a residency in Paddy Reilly’s on Second Avenue, America’s best known Irish music venue and the launching pad for Black 47, Eileen Ivers, Cherish The Ladies and many more successful acts. The band played mostly versions of Irish drinking and rebel songs and ballads, and became quite popular. Sean, being a poet, longed to perform more of his own material, and decided to leave the boys and form his own band. He called it The McCabes, at the drummer’s suggestion.(Sean tried but could not think of any other names), and soon this new band was performing not just in new York but at festivals in all of the northeastern states and as far away as Texas, sharing the bill with none other than ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’ at the Wildflower Folk Festival in 2000.

The McCabes won itself the Saturday spot at Paddy Reilly’s in 2001, and kept it until the fall of 2003. In the words of Steve Duggan, owner of Paddy Reilly’s and booking agent for many bands including Black 47, Paddy Reilly, and The Prodigals, The McCabes were one of the ‘best bands ever’ to play in his club, and the residency was one of the ‘most successful ever’. The McCabes first CD, ‘Live at Paddy Reilly’s’, was recorded there, and is still a favourite on jukeboxes throughout the Irish club scene nationwide.

The McCabes are now one of America’s best loved Irish bands and have appeared at most major Irish festivals, including the Stonehill Festival, The New York Irish Festival, the Chicago Gaelic Park festival, The Kansas City Irish festival, the West Palm Beach Irish festival. They have also appeared at Shea Stadium on the same stage that The Beatles played on so many years ago.

A host of great musicians have passed through the band, including fiddler Matt Mancuso(Lord Of The Dance), fiddler Clarence Ferrari (Lenahan), Mandolin player Darryl Conlon(Crossroads), drummer Steve Holloway(Riverdance), drummer Lez Warner(The Cult), drummer Mark Pardy(The Full Monty, Phil Coulter).

The McCabes have recorded three CD’s, Live at Paddy Reilly’s(2001), Whatever Makes You Tick(2002), and Dark Before The Dawn(2004), all of them showcasing Sean’s country folk originals.

Sean is still in search of that perfect irish country sound. The lineup has never been better, with Ryan Cavan on drums, Daniel Paccine on bass, Rick Snell on guitar, Matt Mancuso back on fiddle, and Sean himself strumming the guitar. He has since bought himself a Martin, preferring to hang the used guitar he bought at the trinket store on his studio wall, alongside a copy of the LP cover, Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born In The USA’. Sean continues to write, prolifically, songs born in Ireland, but made in the USA.