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Updated: 23 April 2008

The musically dynamic trio Empty Pockets blends traditional sounds of Irish and Celtic Spanish music with slightly more contemporary rhythms that complement, but not overshadow, the beautiful nuances of their music.

Dave Migoya (flute, whistle) is a 13-time national solo fife champion who grew up in New York City and came into traditional flute playing in the mid-1990s as a way of seeking greater challenges. He’s twice been a finalist for the All-Ireland championship on flute and fife having won the Senior Midwest American titles in consecutive years. Dave finally visited Ireland in 2007, meeting his family in County Mayo, where his paternal grandmother and father grew up. His mother is a native of Galicia, Spain, one of the world’s oldest Celtic regions.

Kevin Rumery (bouzouki, guitar, vocals) is an accomplished singer-songwriter whose talent for accompanying traditional musicians stretches back to the early days of Boulder’s pub session scene. He’s a Nebraska native who has studied under some of the finest performers on his chosen instruments, developing a unique style that firmly blends with his distinct, tenor voice. Kevin’s distinct introspective lyrics push the mind to self-examination, opening hearts and eyes to long-hidden feelings. Kevin recorded his first solo CD – Stormbird – in 2005.

David Walsh (bodhran, tippers) is a graduate of the University of Colorado who fell into drumming while slipping into the pub sessions of Boulder and tripping to Ireland for a taste of the real thing. The trip so moved David that he packed up and headed over there, where he refined his budding style in Galway. Not long after, David slid over to the United Kingdom, where he reconnected with musical friends and met his fiddling, Scottish wife, Jane. He became a fixture at venues around Oxford, Manchester, London and Birmingham, then after 15 years over there, he returned to Colorado.

Moira Theriault