Celtic Rockers Iona Announce New Tour

Pioneering Celtic Rock band Iona are set to tour again, following the successful launch of a new album last year.

Now the band is set to take to the road for six UK dates in the first half of this year, which they will fit in between tours in Switzerland and the USA.

Iona gained widespread acclaim in mainstream media for their progressive Celtic sound, since the release of their first album in the early 1990s.

In particular critics raved about their concept albums ‘The Book of Kells’ and ‘Beyond These Shores’ which brought them huge popularity.

But after a number of years of touring and recording, the band settled into a long period of inactivity until 2010 when they announced they were recording a new album. ‘Another Realm’ was released in 2011, and the band began a new round of touring.

Now they have announced a new set of dates in the UK, including their first ever date in Canterbury on March 1st and the band will go on to appear in Burgess Hill on the 2nd of March.

Four further dates are currently scheduled for later in the year, starting on May 31st in Beverley, Yorkshire; June 1st in Lancaster; June 2nd at The Big Church Day Out, in West Sussex; and June 3rd in Wavendon.

The current touring line up includes founding members Joanna Hogg (Keyboards and vocals) and Dave Bainbridge (guitar), as well as drummer Frank Van Essen who joined the band in the early 1990s. The lineup also includes two newer members, widely respected Uilean Pipes player Martin Nolan and bassist Phil Barker who was once a member of Christian pop band ‘The Funky Beehive’, and went on to play with a host of other Christian and mainstream musicians.