Willos’ are

Stephanie Martin – fiddle – Belfast (IRL)
Fiona King – voice & keyboards – Toronto (CAN)
Lorenzo Del Grande – flutes – (ITA)
Luca Mercurio – folk guitar & bouzouki –  (ITA)
Giulio Putti – percussions – (ITA)
Massimo Giuntini – uillean pipes, irish bouzouki, flutes – (ITA)

Willos’ started in Siena (Italy) in January 2001 with a repertoire of irish and scottish folk music .

Over the years and nearly 600 gigs in Ireland, Italy, France and Switzerland the band has continued to produce their own style and today it is interpreting, composing and producing their own fresh unique sound.

In 2020, before all live music events were cancelled, the band was booked to tour for the first time in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Poland.

However, by the end of 2021 the band was able to perform more than 30 in person gigs all over Italy and started some great relationships with pipers Massimo Giuntini and Martino Vacca from the band FULL SET.

In September 2021 the band started working on a new full album “From Now On” that was released in May 2022 with great international feedback.

Today the 6 piece band is no longer only reproducing traditional music but is now interpreting, composing and producing its own ‘fresh’ sound and unique style, experimenting original compositions mixed with trad and folk.  The approach, however, is the same, performing and involving the public by creating a dance atmosphere with ‘memorable’ rhythms and ‘catchy’ themes that can be performed informally, in any venue.

Prior to “From Now On”, Willos’ released three albums, also working with international artists such as violinists Liz Carroll and Athena Tergis and guitarist John Doyle.

Album Titles
2003 Cionn Caslach
2005 Working Men
2010 Dirt Tracks
2022 From Now On

What does Willos’ mean?

The original band’s name was Will o’ the Wisp. Irish folklore says those were lights used to guide mortals to the places where the fairies danced.

Some time ago, after a great review from a French journalist that named the band “les willos”, it was decided to start using this shorter and easier version of the name.

What a French journalist said about our music :

Fimu festival – Belfort – France

Italy-Ireland :  A fine treat!

It is always possible to turn-down the music but nothing can be done to stop it! The Proof are willos’, an explosive Irish – Italian band that seduced the main Square ‘La Republique’ yesterday afternoon.

You could say that Willos’  are an Irish or Scottish band when the singer interprets in English the Airs that come from a Traditional Celtic Repertoire. Then, suddenly, without changing instruments they put themselves in the sphere of musicians that make the InterCeltic Festival of Lorient a success.

The lyrics sung also in Italian, you discover watching the program closely that Willos’ are based in Siena, in Italy. Nor th Channel nor the Alps can prevent their Mediterranean music from meeting the Celtic Tradition.

So if you missed them yesterday, you can catch them today. Tomorrow will be too late!!  (Belfort – FRA – FIMU Festival)