The Pishy Cloots was born when guitarist Mikail and fiddler Ron crossed paths in the old-time music scene, where they quickly discovered a shared passion for...
The Pishy Cloots was born when guitarist Mikail and fiddler Ron crossed paths in the old-time music scene, where they quickly discovered a shared passion for tradition — and for the wild, foot-stomping joys of Celtic folk and Old time music. For our American friends, a Pishy Cloot is what you call a baby haggis… and much like our namesake, we’re small, feisty, and not afraid to make a bit of noise. Our music is a lively fusion of traditional Irish, Scottish, and American folk — with rowdy pub tunes, murder ballads, drinking songs, and storytelling ballads all sharing a pint in the same set. We draw inspiration from The Corries, The Pogues, and the great Bill Monroe. For our energetic performances? Let’s just say we aim for the intensity of a massive gas leak fire and the chaos of a hundred-car pileup… but in a good way. We’ve taken our music from New Jersey’s Celtic nights to the Tall Ships Festival in Aberdeen, Scotland, performing for the American Irish Association and countless folk sessions along the way. We’ve played four monthly Celtic Nights across the state, and regularly appear at the legendary Albert Music Hall. Some gigs stick in the memory more than others — like the night at The Cloverleaf Tavern when a stray passerby knocked over a mic stand, sending the microphone perfectly pint-first into a fresh Guinness, shattering the glass and baptizing Ron’s brand-new mixing desk in stout. At the heart of it all, our music is about connection — taking you back to a simpler time, before smartphones and streaming, when stories, love, death, horses, trains, and farms filled the verses. Our acoustic style keeps things honest, real, and a little bit mischievous. Before every gig, we keep a small tradition: we sit together over a cup of tea, take a breath, and get ready to bring a roomful of people together in song. From audience singalongs to the Irish classics you didn’t know you knew, our shows are less like concerts and more like a night out with old friends — the kind of friends who might teach you a drinking song, break your heart with a murder ballad, and still make you laugh before last call.
