Brobdingnagian Bards

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Brobdingnagian Bards are a Celtic music group from Austin, Texas.

[edit] History

Marc Gunn, formerly of Austin Texas' alternative rock bands Skander and Breastfed, released a solo album (Geography) featuring himself on autoharp and Andrew McKee on recorder in 1998. This initial collaboration lead to the official formation of the Brobdingnagian Bards in 1999.

The group's name is derived from the kingdom of coarse giants described in Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels. The band is currently made up of its original two members, Marc Gunn (autoharp, vocals), and Andrew McKee (recorder, mandolin).

The Brobdingnagian Bards musical style is best described as a mixture of both Irish and Scottish folk songs. Despite performing in what is considered a "niche" genre, this duo was ranked as one of the top 20 bands on the original MP3.com. Over time, the Bards have also honed their act into live entertainment by adding comedy, with McKee being the "straight-man" to Gunn's antics. As a result, they have also become a familiar and popular act on both the renaissance faire and geek-show circuits.

The Bards had the honor of being headliners at the Oscar party for the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. They have also received an Austin Music Award for Best Novelty Band, and were the first Celtic band to ever win such an accolade. In addition to the many conventions, faires and music festivals the group performs at around the Austin area, they also have toured coast to coast, and developed a following of devoted listeners, referred to as "Nagians."