Reilly Brings Celtic Rock Back to Nine Irish Brothers — Two Nights, August 27 & 28, 2026
Some bands play Irish music. Reilly lives it — loudly, joyfully, and with more than 25 years of pub-honed experience behind every note. This August, one of the Midwest’s premier Celtic rock bands returns to Nine Irish Brothers for two nights of foot-stomping, hand-clapping, sing-along Irish music: Thursday, August 27 — Nine Irish Brothers, West Lafayette — 8 PM and Friday, August 28 — Nine Irish Brothers, Lafayette — 8 PM.
If you’ve seen Reilly here before, you already know: get here early, grab a pint, and settle in for one of the most fun nights of live music you’ll find anywhere in Greater Lafayette. If you haven't...
Who Is Reilly?
Reilly is a Milwaukee-based Celtic rock band with a story as Irish as its sound. The group began in early 2000 as a true pub band — a circle of friends founded by percussionist Brian Reilly, playing traditional Irish tunes over a few pints at a local bar. When Brian passed away later that year, his bandmates carried the music forward in his name, plugged in, and forged the driving, contemporary “Reilly sound” that has powered the band ever since. A quarter century and hundreds of gigs later, Reilly has grown into a touring act with serious credentials. The band was twice voted Celtic Band of the Year by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) awards, earned a five-outof-five-star rating from the Celtic Radio Music Network, and has been featured on programs like Good Morning Ireland, Blarney on the Air, and Paddyrock internet radio.
Musicians First — and It Shows
What sets Reilly apart is the musicianship underneath all the fun. These are veteran players who blend traditional Irish instrumentation — fiddle, whistle, mandolin — with the drive of electric guitars, bass, and a full drum kit. Over four albums of originals and re-imagined Celtic classics — Beyond the Pale (2002), Saints of the Ocean (2007), the nationally released Kick Ass Celtic Christmas (2008), and Revelry and Regret (2013) — they’ve honed a style that honors Ireland’s musical heritage while rocking hard enough for any American crowd. Their holiday single “Dear Santa (I Can Explain)” even landed national radio airplay on a compilation alongside George Strait, Yo-Yo Ma, and Rascal Flatts.
That experience runs deep on stage, too. Reilly has been a mainstay of the Milwaukee Irish Fest — one of the largest Irish music festivals in the world —and has shared stages with Celtic music heavyweights like Gaelic Storm, Flogging Molly, Enter the Haggis, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Seven Nations, The Prodigals, and Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom.
The Live Show: Get Off Your Chair
Ask anyone who has seen them — Reilly has built its reputation as an interactive, get-off-your-chair live act. A Reilly set roams from rowdy traditional pub songs like “Whiskey in the Jar,” “Wild Rover,” and “Drunken Sailor” to contemporary Irish favorites from The Pogues, the Saw Doctors, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, and Great Big Sea — plus their own originals and unexpected rock and Americana covers given a Celtic twist, from Tom Petty to Johnny Cash to Queen to the Stones to the Pixies to the Clash...
The result is a show where everybody finds a song they know and nobody stays quiet for long. Expect sing-alongs, clap-alongs, requests, plenty of laughter, and a band that feeds off the crowd all night. It’s exactly the kind of night an Irish pub was made for.
Two Nights, Two Pubs, One Great Weekend
Reilly plays Thursday, August 27 at our West Lafayette pub and Friday, August 28 at our Lafayette pub. Both shows start at 8 PM. Come for dinner — shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, and a perfectly poured pint of Guinness —and stay for the music. Bring your friends, bring your family, and be ready to sing.
Nights like these fill up fast, so arrive early to get a good seat. We’ll see you at the pub — sláinte!
