A seasoned performer with over 35 years on the road, Rory has toured extensively with The Makem Brothers and the Makem and Spain Brothers and for 17 years played guitar with his father, Tommy Makem. He has played sold-out venues, festivals, and theaters throughout the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Ireland. At his best on stage, Rory captivates his audiences with charisma, passion for the songs, poetry, history, humor, and skilled musicianship.
The love of song runs deep in the family. Continuing a legacy handed down from his grandmother, the legendary source singer Sarah Makem, Rory pulls the songs of the worker, the sailor, the lovers, the fighters, and the land from the pages of history and breathes life into them. An adept interpreter of folk songs, he masterfully accompanies himself on guitar, banjo, mandolin, or bouzouki.
Through more than a quarter century of plying his craft, Rory has established himself as one of the leading forces in the song tradition of Irish music… And so… the tradition continues.