Will Millar, Band Will Perform Traditional Irish Music At Met
Will Millar and his band of Irish Rogues and Rovers are making their way to The Met on Saturday. Millar, who fronted the Irish Rovers for 32 years, has put together a five-piece group of Irishmen to perpetuate the Rovers’ repertoire and perform traditional Irish music.
Millar was roving Highway 1 in California when I caught up with him, or vice versa. He had a day off from his West Coast jaunt and just couldn’t stay in one place. In conversation, as in life, Millar is about as energetic a man as you’ll find.
About his new band, Millar said, “If people liked the Irish Rovers, they will like this. The Irish Rovers created a formula that worked, and we have kept that formula - why mess with a good thing? I wrote and discovered many of the Irish Rovers’ songs, and we do a good bulk of that material, plus a lot of traditional Irish songs.”
Millar, who is from the north of Ireland, talked about his recent trip back there: “I just went back to Ireland. I always come back with new material and especially new jokes. You know, I think all jokes originate in Ireland. They just get changed as they travel to fit the situation.”
And about his old material, Millar said, “Yes, we will do ‘The Unicorn.’ It’s funny how that came to be. It was a last-minute whim. ‘The Unicorn’ was one of those songs we sang for kids, and nobody wanted to do it, but we were in the studio and needed to fill up some tape, and it turned out that people loved it.”
Although he has been performing Irish music since he was 10, Millar has a few other talents up his sleeve. Last year he published a book, “Messing about in Boats,” which is a best-seller in Canada. His tales of nautical roving hit the No. 1 spot for non-fiction just a couple of weeks ago.
Millar is also a proponent of peace in Ireland and has won awards for the CBC television documentary, “Children of Belfast,” which has been broadcast worldwide.
xxxx Rogues and Rovers Will Millar and The Rogues and Rovers will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Met. Tickets are $18.75, available at The Met, G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.