IONA

IONA is a Celtic folk and rock group from the United Kingdom, active from 1990. The band takes its name from the island off the west coast of Scotland. Its core formation comes from vocalist Joanne Hogg and multi-instrumentalists David Fitzgerald and Dave Bainbridge, who form the group in the late 1980s.

Style and influences

Their music sits within Celtic, folk, progressive folk, progressive rock and Celtic rock, and also draws on jazz-fusion, post-rock and ancient Christian themes. The band is associated with the wider Celtic music scene alongside artists such as Enya and Clannad.

Early line-up and debut

For the debut album, the group adds drummer Terl Bryant and bassist Nick Beggs, formerly of Kajagoogoo, together with studio players Fiona Davidson on Celtic harp, Peter Whitfield on strings, Troy Donockley on Uillean pipes and Frank van Essen on tuned percussion. The self-titled first album receives little press in the United Kingdom, although a Dutch network makes a documentary based on the band and the island.

Albums and later work

Two years later, IONA releases

"Book of Kells"

, which is praised by critics in North America and the British Isles. David Fitzgerald leaves in 1992 to study music, and the next album,

"Beyond These Shores"

, reflects a reduced jazz influence. Robert Fripp guests on that record, and Nick Beggs also appears on both albums.

Later releases include

"Journey into the Morn"

, which comes out under a contract with England's Alliance Music and is issued in the United States and Canada in 1996,

"Heaven's Bright Sun"

, a live album from the following year,

"Woven Cord"

in 2000,

"Open Sky"

in 2001 and

"The Circling Hour"

in 2007.

"Journey into the Morn"

is listed among the top five folk albums in Q Magazine's year-end review.

Personnel

The group includes, across its history, Joanne Hogg, Dave Bainbridge, David Fitzgerald, Terl Bryant, Nick Beggs, Troy Donockley, Frank van Essen, Phil Barker, Martin Nolan and Mike Haughton.