Contest: Win Blaggards CD and T-Shirt
August 10, 2009 by Eric J
There is no shortage of great music here in Austin, TX. Pretty much anytime I want, I can go downtown and find a great live show. Last week, I was lucky enough to end up at a great Irish pub called Fadó. The band that was playing that night was called Blaggards from Houston, TX, and my Irish blood warmed quickly to the thought of listening to a nice, mellow Celtic traditional band.
Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise.
Patrick Devlin, singer and guitarist of Blaggards, grew up in Dublin, Ireland before moving to Houston in his early 20’s. After meeting bassist and singer Chad Smalley, the roots of a kick ass Irish rock group began to form. Rounded out by an amazing fiddler named Chris Buckley and the incredibly talented drummer Michael McAloon, Blaggards were ready to begin their goal of world domination. Blaggards have an intense show schedule this year, and head off to Ireland in March of 2010. Want to go with ‘em? Me too! We can.
Frequently compared to groups such as Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly and the Pogues, Blaggards are much more than just a Irish rock band. With undertones of Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, even Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley, Blaggards bring a new and very satisfying sound to fans of all genres. There are elements of rock, folk, punk and yes, metal, in their on stage set. Their first CD, titled Standards, is so surprisingly good that I’ve yet to play it for someone that isn’t an instant fan… no matter what their favorite style of music happens to be.
I think that metal fans in general are fans of music that speaks to us, music that makes us sit up and take notice, whether tapping our toes or banging our heads, the music has to make us feel something… which is why I feel more than comfortable suggesting that all of the Metal Martyr readers give Blaggards a listen. I didn’t have my nice HD video camera with me for this show, and attempted to record a couple of their songs at night with a regular digital camera. Needless to say, the videos came out looking like The Blair Witch Project, so I won’t be posting those.
However, you can listen to one of their songs, “Drunken Sailor”, here!
Blaggards and Metal Martyr have teamed up to offer one reader a copy of Standards, their full length first release, and a bad ass Blaggards t-shirt. Entering is simple, just leave a comment below, and at 5pm CST on Monday, August 17, 2009 I will pick a random winner via random.org.
Learn more about Blaggards here:
www.blaggards.com
www.myspace.com/blaggards
Buy their CD here: www.cdbaby.com/artist/blaggards
Contest Rules:
You must be a resident of the US, and leave a valid email address when you make your comment so that I can contact the winner. One comment per person per day, please. Any duplicates will be deleted.
[image: Anna Donlan/Blaggards]
Blaggards are so cool! They make me dance my butt off.
:}
Wow, I’m glad everyone enjoys Blaggards so much! All of you Austinites that are checking this out, I hope to see you @ Fadó August 15!
I’m sick & tired of workin’!!
Blaggards Rock
from a BLAGGARD wanna-be
I meant to share that I cannot wait to see them again! See, I was so excited about the idea of the Blaggards, I dropped necessary letters in my haste to praise them!
Blaggards Totally RULE!!
Blaggards should come to the New York area again.
i’ve watched the blaggards for several years now starting in dallas, last time I saw them in austin Patrick still remembered my now ex husband and I and dedicated a song to us…although the marriage didnt last my love for the blaggards will!
Blaggards are a fresh new sound that should be played in elevators around the world. get it on.
I saw the posting on Facebook and forwarded the Texas schedule to friends in College Station… I may have to start searching for a flight!
Blaggards… Woo Hooooo !!!!!
I saw the Blaggards live for the first time at Molly’s Pub in Conroe, Tx last weekend and have had several of their songs running through my head ever since! Loved it!!
Great sound. Haven’t heard them before.
Haven’t heard them before but I just saw Flogging Molly who are one of my fav bands along with Dropkick Murphys. If they are anything like the Molly’s or the Murphy’s then they must be awesome.
They’re a nice blend of the old and new. Please accept my entry. Thank you.
I’d love to win. Even their name is cool.
I am IRISH and would love to win this.
enter me
Blaggards is great. I heard one of their songs somewhere played.
Would love to win!
my children say they are great… so I’ll give it a shot
I never even heard of them.
I love the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, but I hadn’t heard of the Blaggards.
If I don’t win the CD, I’ll have to buy it now!
My hubby would love to have this he loves them
Blaggards are amazing, thanks for the chance!
My daughter thinks you’re cool.
would love to check them out
I heard a few songs and I am hooked with definitely love to win this!
Thanks
ksweeper21@gmail.com
Blaggards are very cool!
Blaggards Rock
I would love to win this great prize pack.
sounds great to me!
Thank you for the AWESOME GIVEAWAY.. Please count me in
Yup, yup, yup. I’m feelin’ the need.
Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!
wonderful prize please enter me con5459(at)gmail(dot)com
Great sound. I am all about it.
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
Thanks for the chance at the great tunes!
Blaggards CD and T-Shirt! Great giveaway!
…?
ok so there may be nothing better than a sexy man in a kilt, however…. these guys are pretty darn HOT!!!
Congrats to Meaghan for winning this contest! There will be many more contests in the future, so stick around!
hot thanks for a chance to win
Just saw these guys in Bloomington, IL…………Absolutely brilliant. Hang on to your ass, these guys go hard all night. Best live show I’ve seen in a long time.
I accidentally saw these guys at the Irish Fest in Houston, I had no idea I would see such a cool, original band, they really get the crowd involved, the music is awesome, what a great time.
Just today I heard my first “Blaggards song”. F@ł€@’ great! I have to go and check out some more!
The mixture seems to be very cool for me. Maybe there’s missing some Thrash Metal. (was a joke)…
Keep it up, dudes!