The Belfast band's trademark is edgy vocals, instrumental "fire power", beards, girth of over 190, irrepressible energy but also gravitas.
These five tree-length lads have their feet firmly in the here and now. This gives the Rapparees their earthy gravity and credibility. They pull the audience out of their seats and ground them at the same time. Everyone senses that everything that bubbles up and triggers feelings of happiness has matured for a long time and has depth. Their way of playing is described in Ireland as "rough and ready". That simply speaks for itself and needs no further translation. The band plays pretty much all the instruments that make up a typical Irish sound, such as banjo, fiddle, bodhrán, bouzouki, whistle and guitars. The electric bass and drums or the bodhran provide the rocking touch.
The quintet lives in one of Belfast's underprivileged working-class neighborhoods, where tourists to Ireland don't really go. Especially not the foreign bands for whom it has become fashionable to cover the Pogues and the Dubliners. The Rapparees have grown up with a warm, rough tone and when they announce their songs, there is always something
charmingly. The people in the neighborhood have a backbone, self-confidence and are proud of their subculture. The Rapparees are no exception. What can they be proud of? The ballads, the songs of the Irish working class, the "murriels" - large murals often with a political undertone, the sports clubs and pubs where people are well socialized.
are. Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the neighborhood. Boxing is just as much a part of Irish working-class culture as ballads. You can box without belonging to the well-to-do. It's pretty much the only discipline in which Irish athletes regularly bring back some medals from the Olympics to the Emerald Isle. To keep this old tradition alive, the band are calling their upcoming tour the "Knock out tour".