Brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn grew up playing music together around their hometown of Carlow, a small town in the southeast of Ireland. After moving to Dublin in 2012, they quickly became a staple of the live music and session scene in Ireland, playing their own original songs as well as folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and America.

In 2014 they came to the attention of Arbutus Yarns’ music filmmaker Myles O’Reilly, whose videos gained international attention for the brothers for the first time.

After a chance meeting at Electric Picnic in September 2015, the brothers performed onstage with Glen Hansard, who invited them to open for him on his European tour the following October.

Their debut EP Rose & Briar was released on October 7th 2015.

Following that, they were busy touring Ireland, the UK and Europe, opening for acts such as Villagers, Roy Harper and Lisa Hannigan (whose band they played in for her Irish tour, June 2016). They have played sold out headline shows in Ireland, France, Switzerland and the UK.

They have made numerous television and live radio appearances in Ireland, and were also part of ‘Imagining Home’, a live broadcast concert in the National Concert Hall of Ireland, 2016, curated by Glen Hansard, Philip King and Gary Sheehan.

In October 2017 they launched their debut, self-titled album to great acclaim. “​Ye Vagabonds” comprised of harmony rich folk music, influenced by Irish traditional music, Appalachian singing, and the 1960’s folk revival. It included ten mellow tracks weaved with thoughtful lyrics, thickly layered with strings and droning harmonium.

Their second album ‘The Hare’s Lament’ was released on 22nd March 2019 to huge critical acclaim. In 2019 they won the BBC Radio Two Folk Award for Best Traditional Track, and they swept the boards at the RTÉ Radio One Folk Awards where they won Best Traditional Track, Best Group, and Best Album.

A long-awaited EP came out on January 22nd 2020 featuring two tracks, ‘I’m A Rover’ and ‘The Bothy Boys’, again released on Rough Trade Records’ imprint River Lea, and once again they swept the boards at the RTÉ Radio One Folk Awards where they now hold the record for most awarded artists, winning Best Traditional Track and Best Group.

Their new album Nine Waves was released on Rough Trade’s River Lea label on May 13th.

Nine Waves was recorded in the Dublin Mountains at Hellfire Studios, produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy (whose previous work includes records by black midi, Lankum and caroline). The album features 11 tracks of both traditional and original songs and tunes. The brotherly harmonies and multi-instrumental abilities of Dairmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn were joined on ‘Nine Waves’ by Kate Ellis (cello) and Caimin Gilmore (double bass), both members of the Irish contemporary classical group Crash Ensemble, and Ryan Hargadon (Anna Mieke, Rachael Lavelle, Kojaque) on piano and saxophone. The record also features concertina from Cormac Begley and harmonium from regular touring member of Ye Vagabonds, Alain McFadden.

“A remarkable album” – Songlines

“Joyous” – Uncut

“Reflective and reverent, with Nine Waves Ye Vagabonds prove once again to be at the forefront of an ever-evolving, flourishing Irish folk scene and have done so in the most understated and inspired fashion imaginable.” Folk Radio

“A cavern of delights… A labyrinthine treasure trove” – The Irish Times

“​They remind me of my first days at ‘Les Cousins’ in Soho in 1965… Ye Vagabonds are a modern expression of a tradition that is truly robust and important to these islands.”​ Roy Harper

“​Going backwards to go forwards, [Ye Vagabonds] look not to modern day influence to inspire their sound, but prefer to absorb and reflect the most genuine leanings of deep tradition, playing folk music that resonates as pure and honest as it has since time immemorial. In an age where styles have a limited shelf life, and musicians so often live by definition of their sell-by date, Ye Vagabonds make music that honours timeless sincerity with acoustic fireside story telling that will sound as current a hundred years from now as it has a hundred generations past.”​ Myles OReilly (Arbutus Yarns)