megaTRAD are a high energy, improvisation based trio with a sound best described as an exalted manifestation of Irish Trad, melding their cultural musical heritage with diverse individual musical experiences, bolstered by the contemporary nuances of stomp, bass, and pedal FX boards. The outcome is an innovative and exhilarating auditory journey, affectionately termed “Tradscendental” by their enthusiastic fanbase. Their improvisational approach to the megaTRAD show promises audiences a once-in-a-lifetime experience at every performance and gives megaTRAD the freedom to sculpt their performance around what energy the audience is looking for. The story of megaTRAD began as an experiment for a local gig at The Glen Tavern in Limerick. The idea, initially proposed by Cillian, was that we bring any effects pedals we have and play “trad session” plugged in, utilising various effects to explore the nuances of Irish traditional music in a new way, while holding onto a huge premise of what we all love from traditional music that is, listening to and playing with the other musicians. This improvisatory approach to a trad session is what we still hold onto today and is what makes it so enjoyable for us to perform. Though we never really know what’s going to happen on stage, we know we can trust each other to simply listen and bounce off each others ideas. An approach we often lean on is that there are no wrong answers in a megaTRAD gig. If you have an idea go for it!
