The Walker Roaders are James Fearnley (The Pogues), Ted Hutt (Flogging Molly), and Marc Orrell (Dropkick Murphys). They released their first self-titled album in 2019 on Ginger Man/Beverly Martel Label Group. Produced by Hutt, the tracks were co-written by the trio, with Fearnley supplying the lyrics. The recording and performing lineup is completed by producer Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) on bass and Bryan Head on drums.

Their music combines accordion, mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass, and drums, played by musicians steeped in what’s become known as Celtic-punk—both originators of, and renowned practitioners in, the genre. The three met in the U.S. Fearnley and Hutt began writing together, later joined by Orrell, whom Fearnley had known since Dropkick Murphys supported The Pogues on their 2005 Christmas tour. The band took their name, The Walker Roaders, from a street gang from Fearnley’s childhood in Manchester “who would slice your thumbprint with a penknife if they came across you and felt like it.”

James Fearnley was the last guitarist for the Nipple Erectors, the London punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan. In 1982, MacGowan brought Fearnley in to play accordion for a group performing Irish traditional music fueled by punk ethos. The Pogues quickly rose to international acclaim before disbanding 12 years later following the ejection of their lead singer. Fearnley left the band in 1993 to immigrate to the U.S., where he formed The Low and Sweet Orchestra (with Joe Strummer collaborator Zander Schloss of L.A. punk group Circle Jerks), releasing the critically acclaimed Goodbye to All That on Interscope Records in 1996. He later co-founded the “band of one-man-bands,” Cranky George, whose album Fat Lot of Good was released in 2016.

Ted Hutt, originally from Croydon, Surrey, was a founding member of Flogging Molly—their original guitarist, songwriter, and producer. After leaving the band in the late 1990s, he produced more than fifty albums for artists including Dropkick Murphys, Gaslight Anthem, Old Crow Medicine Show (earning a Grammy), Devil Makes Three, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Violent Femmes, Skinny Lister, and many more.

Marc Orrell, from Worcester, Massachusetts, joined Dropkick Murphys at age 17 as a multi-instrumentalist. After four albums and eight years on the road, he left the band and moved to California. A prolific songwriter and fearless recording artist, Orrell has released several projects and is known for his energetic performances.

The Walker Roaders’ 2019 self-titled album, produced by Hutt and written by the trio with lyrics from Fearnley, runs the full Celtic-punk gamut—from the scathing, breakneck ballad of defiance and dread “Lord Randall’s Bastard Son” to the tolling waltz “The Blackbird Only Knows One Song,” reminiscent of the well in The Pogues’ repertoire that produced classics like “Kitty” and “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.”