George Millar, is a singer/songwriter and guitarist with the Irish-Canadian music group The Irish Rovers.
George was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, ca. 1947,[1] the brother of Will Millar and Sandra Beech. As children, they performed as "The Millar Kids" in Ireland, before the family emigrated to Canada. After emigrating, George met Jimmy Ferguson at an Irish function in Toronto in 1963, and they began playing as The Irish Rovers in Toronto. The following year George's cousin Joe Millar came to Canada, and was recruited into the band. After touring around Ontario, they joined Will in Calgary, where he was doing a children's TV show. They played at The Depression Coffee House in Calgary, and later headed to California where they made a name for themselves at the Purple Onion in San Francisco. They were later joined by Wilcil McDowell.
George's voice is heard on several of their recordings, including "The Black Velvet Band", "Lord of the Dance", "No More Bread and Butter" and "Drunken Sailor". More recently, he is heard on "The Lass With The Bonny Brown Hair", "Home To Bantry Bay", "The Dublin Pub Crawl", as well as the ballad, "And The Sun It Still Rises".
Millar is a prolific composer/songwriter. The Irish Rovers concert performances and album releases are full of his compositions. In the early days of the band he wrote many songs with his brother, Will Millar.
His waterfront home in Nanoose, British Columbia, Canada, where he’s lived for 20 years, is also a source of inspiration for his songwriting, while producer, Rick Salt’s studio in downtown Nanaimo is the place to record the results. The recordings are sent to Ireland, where some members of the band live, before returning to Nanaimo to lay down the last bits of vocals. The last 10 or so albums were recorded in Nanaimo, including their latest Gracehill Fair, which includes some old Irish songs, new compositions and the usual jigs and reels.
George Millar's numerous compositions include the title track from their latest album/cd, "Gracehill Fair", as well as "The Girls of Derry", "The Dublin Pub Crawl", "Bells Over Belfast", "And The Sun It Still Rises", "No More Bread and Butter" and "Rambling Boys of Pleasure".