The Dady Brothers
Western NewYork’s favorite troubadours
Originally from Rochester, NY, John and Joe have shared their unique variety of Celtic and American folk music in diverse venues around the country and abroad for more than forty years.
Self-styled singers, multi-instrumentalist musicians and composers, John and Joe possessed a solid command of many folk instruments including, but not limited to guitar, pennywhistle, fiddle, banjo, octave mandolin, harmonica, uilleann pipes, bodhran and ukulele. Their wide repertoire ranges from Irish Traditional and Irish and American Folk to original and contemporary Folk, Bluegrass, and Acoustic Blues. Always at ease with their audiences, they had a knack for finding humor in the moment and sharing it spontaneously.
The Dadys received impressive reviews in numerous publications in America, Ireland and Canada, including the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Freetime Magazine, the Irish Echo, Sing Out, Dirty Linen, American History Magazine, Pickin', City Newspaper, the Cork Examiner, and Bluegrass Unlimited. Their music can also be heard on soundtracks for historical documentaries and on radio and television productions in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Slovenia, Italy, and Australia.
John and Joe were recognized for their talent and their generosity of spirit in the community by former Rochester mayors Bill Johnson, Robert Duffy, and Lovely Warren and were ceremoniously presented the Keys to the City. Additional accolades were bestowed by Comhaltas Ceoltiori Erin, Rochester City School District, Rochester City Council, Monroe County Special Olympics, and the Maplewood Neighborhood Association. The Rochester St. Patrick's Day Parade honored John and Joe with the Community Leaders of the Year Award in 2008. Lord Mayor of Dublin Gerry Breen heralded them for "their contribution to Irish Music and Culture in Ireland and Abroad" and they were recipients of the Tommy Makem Festival of Traditional Song Scroll of Honor for their "promotion of the Irish, the American and world wide song and music traditions." In 2019, they were honored to receive the Eoin McKiernan Award from the Rochester Chapter of the Irish American Cultural Institute for "promoting an intelligent appreciation of the Irish Culture" and, in 2020, they were chosen to be inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.
The Dady Brothers were thrilled to try their skill at acting, performing their music in three professional productions at Rochester’s own Geva Theatre. They also collaborated with Side-by-Side Productions in the creation of "Beautiful Dreamer", a one-act play accounting the life of American songwriter Stephen Foster.
For more than 20 years they have hosted musical tours to Ireland and have performed on Celtic music cruises to the Caribbean, Nova Scotia and Alaska with singer/songwriter Danny O’Flaherty and other Irish stars including Danny Doyle and Andy M. Stewart.
Countless audiences of all ages have enjoyed the magic of a Dady Brothers performance.
John and Joe have recorded twelve independently released albums and produced numerous projects for other area artists.
A partial list of prestigious performers they’ve shared a stage with includes Rick Danko (The Band), Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Jay Unger and Molly Mason, The Clancy Brothers, Danny O’Flaherty, Kate Wolf, Arlo Guthrie, Paddy Keenan (The Bothy Band), Will Millar (Irish Rovers), Bill Staines, Finbar Furey, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Cherish the Ladies, Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, Eric Bogle, Mike Cross, John Hume (Nobel Peace Prize winner) and Robin and Linda Williams.
As Tommy Makem so eloquently put it, “The Dady Brothers have it all – taste, talent, and dedication. Taste to write and select good material; talent to perform that material excellently, to the delight of their audiences; and dedication to keep their material and performances to the highest standards.”
In May of 2019, Joe lost his battle with leukemia. John continues to carry on the music, performing solo or with a number of close friends.