The Kerry Boys are Mark James, originally from the county Kerry Ireland now a Cheshire, CT resident, and Pierce Campbell, (CT’s official State Troubadour 2007/08) from Prospect, CT. These two dynamic and popular Connecticut musicians combined their talents to form this exciting Irish duo over 35 years ago at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge MA, where they were dubbed The Kerry Boys and became an overnight sensation, packing the Inn’s pub at every show. 

Since then, they have dazzled fans of all ages from Maine to Pennsylvania with their humorous high-energy and engaging performances of Traditional and original Irish ballads and sea songs. They have played Irish festivals, libraries, town greens and pubs throughout New England, including The Connecticut Irish Festival, the Danbury Irish Festival, the Fairfield Irish Festival, The Hunter Mountain Celtic Festival (NY), The Scranton Celtic Festival, The East Durham Irish Festival (NY), The New Haven Arts and Ideas Festival and The CTFolk Festival. Even more impressive, they have played in over 70 towns in CT for summer concerts and library shows as members of The CT Commission on the Arts.

What makes The Kerry Boys so special is the rare combination of talents that Mark and Pierce possess. Both are strong vocalists and instrumentalists with mandolin and guitar backing while Pierce’s original pub style songs are always a hit. Their performances are truly a shared experience as they engage audiences of all ages. Joining them for most shows as they play songs from their 5 CD’s are long-time Kerry Boys, Paul Neri on banjo and Tony Pasqualoni on bass. 

The Kerry Boys got their start at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA where Vince McDonald who was the Lion’s Den manager at the time dubbed them The Kerry Boys. In a conversation with Vince one day during a solo performance at the Inn, Pierce mentioned that he had a friend from Ireland who was also a performer and that it would be fun to do a show as a duo with the focus on Irish music. Vince, originally from Ireland himself, quickly agreed and The Kerry Boys were born. Since Mark and Pierce could not think of a name for the group they ignored the subject. When they showed up for their first performance, Vince had dubbed them The Kerry Boys after the county where Mark is from and the name has stuck ever since.

There’s no other way to put it, The Kerry Boys are just plain fun!