FEIS App Sign Stephen Devlin

Creating not the largest, not the broadest, but the very best body of Irish dance music in one place is our mission statement. FEIS App is about producing and cultivating the highest quality Irish dance music the world has to offer.

Why? ‘But it’s not just about being the best!’ people have quipped. And while that is true to some extent, the FEIS App team believe that every dancer, every feis, every major event deserves to have the very best music possible.

Irish music is part of a powerfully rich and beautiful culture, and it therefore deserves to be treated with due respect; and that is why we work so tirelessly to produce the best music, and that’s why we work so hard to help musicians produce their best work; and it’s why we source our musicians so carefully.

Stephen Devlin, a young man from Desertmartin in County Derry, has a passion for Irish dance music, and we feel incredibly lucky to have signed him to the FEIS App team.

And Stephen’s not ‘just a musician’; He has also danced from the age of four, winning World and All Ireland titles within An Comhdhail. Stephen has now moved over to CLRG and dances for the Carson Kennedy Academy in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Starting his musical journey at the age of 5, Stephen is classically trained on the piano, but found very early on that he preferred playing trad rather than Tchaikovsky! One morning before school, while sitting alone at a piano, Stephen taught himself the first part of the Glasgow Reel, and that was it. He was off!

From that very early age he pictured himself performing at feiseanna, and that image hasn’t left his mind since.

Stephen largely picks up music ‘by ear’, which means he prefers to learn a new tune by listening to it over and over again until he can play it, and then add it to his repertoire. “I strongly believe that the best trad music is learned by ear at sessions and Fleadhs from other musicians — it should be lively and raw and most of all, fun!”

Stephen was just 12 when his first chance to play at a feis came around — that was at his school class feis. With a keyboard borrowed from a friend he made quite an impression, and later that year a keyboard was his obvious Christmas present.

Now, years later, he performs at feiseanna across all organizations and is rapidly building an online following. Stephen hasn’t recorded an Irish dance music album to date, but he is now working behind the scenes to bring a collection of tunes together to share with us all. Together with Anthony Davis, Stephen will launch his first album on FEIS App for you all to enjoy in the coming months.

Watch this space for all things Stephen Devlin.