Emmett Lenaghan

The box and bass player with the band, is originally from Birmingham but has lived in Nottingham for many years.
He was active in CCE in Birmingham both as a player and dancer (!), and has played in recent years with Steve in the Midlands-based band, Flashpoint, alongside the renowned box and low whistle wizard, Pete Cunningham, an old mate of Em's from Birmingham.

Jim Carroll

Guitar, pipes, vocals, bouzouki, etc. is from Mansfield and has had a rich and varied career in music of many kinds - both acoustic and electric, in bands and as a solo performer in a variety of styles.
Jim has played all over the British Isles and in Europe and is currently indulging his obsession with the uilleann pipes by learning to make them! Jim made the pipes he plays on stage and is taking orders via his website which you can find in the Links section of the site.

Steve Whiteley

Originally from Nottinghamshire but now living in Derbyshire, is a past master principally on the tenor banjo and the mandolin, but his first love - country blues - is clear in his guitar playing, vocals and choice of songs.
Steve's involvement with bands in the Nottingham area spans several years and reads like a "Who's Who" of the folk scene over the last twenty-five years. From the Nottingham Traditional Folk Group through to Swelkie and on to Redstart and Flashpoint he has always been in demand as a musician and singer.

Patrick Gray

From Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland, has been playing fiddle for more years than he cares to remember and played fiddle and mandolin with the well-known folk band Fieldwork throughout the 1980s. He has lived in his adopted city of Nottingham since that time.
Patrick and Steve also founded the band Redstart which played on the folk-club and pub scene for many years in the East Midlands.

The Band

Alongside the contact they have had through playing together in bands, the guys have always played together informally at Irish music sessions in the city of Nottingham - especially the long-lived Thursday night session which is currently found at the King William IV on Manvers Street on the edge of Sneinton. This session has had an unbroken run of Thursday nights for over 30 years at a range of venues throughout the city. Is this a record for an Irish music session in England?
The session provided a meeting place and a shared approach and repertoire for ACUSHLA which they have built upon and developed into a rich and exciting blend of tunes and songs from the Celtic traditions and elsewhere.