O’Connell Street
A Premier Irish Pub Band
Traditional heart. Contemporary fire.
Meet the Members of the Band
John O’Connell | Vocals, Guitar, Flute, Whistle
John is a born and bred Dubliner, growing up in a family where storytelling and singing were an everyday part of life. He immigrated to the Portland, OR area in 2005, where after singing at an open mic, a member of the very popular Pacific Northwest Irish group, “The Chancers,” approached him to join their band as the lead singer. In 2015, after several years—and many story-generating experiences with “The Chancers”—John and his family moved to Placerville. There John started to attend jams and open mics. He soon found kindred spirits and formed O’Connell Street. John’s wide knowledge of Irish music has been instrumental in shaping the band’s unique sound of integrating influences from contemporary Irish artists while always finding its grounding in traditional tunes and songs. And of course, he sings like an angel. Just ask his ma. Oh, for the record, John did not come up with the band’s name. Another member thought it would be clever to name the group after the main and widest street running through central Dublin. Also, for the record, John didn’t object. We think it suits us just the same.
Jenny Rutherford | Vocals, Fiddle, Guitar
Jenny grew up in the Bay Area and commenced her musical training while quite young. At 4 she started learning piano which she continued throughout her teens; at 9 she picked up the violin, and a couple of years later she was in both orchestra and chorus at her school. Yearning to be a “cool kid,” Jenny learned guitar in high school and studied with teachers who introduced her to the music of The Beatles, Jackson Browne, The Eagles and (gasp!) jazz. In the early 90s she met a couple of lads from Belfast who told her they wanted to start an Irish band. Yes, she fell for that line, but amazingly it happened to be true. Together they became “Blackthorn” and played for several years throughout San Mateo County. In the late 90s she and her husband relocated to El Dorado County, and she was soon playing with Coloma Celtic and, later, Colton Mountain as well as with innumerable iterations of local old time, bluegrass, and Celtic groups. In 2018 Jenny serendipitously sat in with an early version of “O’Connell Street,” and has “manned” the fiddle, guitar, and vocals ever since. She recently said, “The journey of growth with these amazing musicians is what keeps me coming back for more!” We are pretty sure she is talking about us.
Neil Bleiweis | Cajon, Percussion
Neil started playing drums when he was 11 or 12, taking lessons and playing for a several years before giving it up for other, less percussive things (we think that means girls)—a decision he regrets. Still, you can’t keep a good drummer down, and about 15 years ago, he got involved in hand percussion and was ultimately drawn toward the cajon. Neil quickly became adept and was soon one of the most sought-after percussionists in the foothills. A pillar of the local musical community, Neil has played with a variety of well-known groups like the Random Strangers and Coloma Celtic and area musicians such as Larry Park, Dan Little, and Dan Dhillon, among others. About a decade ago he partnered with John O’Connell to help start O’Connell Street and has been the backbone of our rhythm section ever since.
Cameron Lawson | Vocals, Guitar, Sound Engineer
Don’t let his youthful looks fool you. Cameron is an experienced music professional. We recognized his talent as a sound engineer eight years ago when he was still in high school and running the sound for a festival where we were playing! He did such a wonderful job, we asked if he would like to sign on as our “in house” sound guy. Over the years we discovered that not only does Cameron have an amazing ear to go along with his great sound tech knowledge and skill, but he is an outstanding musician as well. He comes by it honestly; his mother is a violinist and his father a cellist, each with classical training but also a love for Celtic music. Growing up in this musical household, Cameron gravitated toward guitar—much to his parents’ chagrin, though they have dealt with it very well—and played for the Sacramento and foothills area Celtic group “Lady of the Lake.” For the past two years, Cameron has added “O’Connell Street guitarist” to his resume on top of continuing to take care of our sound and working as a very busy sound tech for the Harris Center in Folsom. Oh—did we mention he also sings?
Greg Upton | Double Bass
Say what you like about bass players, Greg is a great one and has been a music professional for decades. His journey had a bit of a rocky start. At 7 he began violin but at 8 gave it up to play trumpet, which he abandoned at 10, to play guitar, which was a great fit and he still plays. About a decade ago, Greg decided to learn bass, and became a real stand-up guy in no time. We have forgiven the fact that he is a native Southern Californian, as he migrated to NorCal over 35 years ago. Since 1992 he has been a professional sound engineer, working live events as varied as the High Sierra Musical Festival, Isleton Crawdad Festival, the Yolo County Fair, and the American River Music Festival. He has also been an important professional fixture at Joe and Pamela Craven’s RiverTunes Music Camp since its inception. Greg and his wife have lived in the Placerville-Camino area since 1996, where he is the proud owner and operator of El Dorado Brewing Company. He has kicked around with some local bands, but his life changed 3 years ago when he joined O’Connell Street and—as he puts it—“graduated from playing gypsy jazz to Irish/Celtic music.” Clearly, he is on the right track
Joe Childers | Mandolin, Tenor Banjo, Vocals
Joe grew up in the Ozarks and started out as a guitarist playing in several short-lived folk rock garage bands as a teenager. Much later he picked up the mandolin, primarily to learn to play bluegrass. So, of course, he instead ended up as mandolinist in a regional blues band in Grenada in the Caribbean, where he and his wife lived and worked for a few years. After moving permanently to Placerville, he immersed himself in its vibrant music community and played in several local groups. In 2018, he connected with O’Connell Street as their booker/manager/notes taker and go-to substitute mandolin player. They still often refer to him as the “team mom,” especially when he hands out orange slices and juice boxes to the band during breaks at gigs. About four years ago he became a full-time band member and now shamelessly indulges his love of trad and neo-trad Celtic music. He has even picked up the tenor banjo, though there are plenty of banjo haters out there who have urged him to put it down.
