Ruaile Buaile take internet by storm with Maniac 2000

There's a primal, banjo-fuelled energy driving Ruaile Buaile's latest offering, so if you thought you knew what to expect from the banjo as an instrument, well you can forget it!

When it comes to the banjo, get ready to have your world turned upside down in the coolest of all possible ways, because the Ruaile Buaile boys are blowing all preconceived notions about this instrument sky high with their latest release, a blistering version of 'Maniac 2000.'

'Maniac 2000', possibly one of the most anthemic tunes ever to pulse through the Irish airwaves and fill dancefloors all across the land, thanks to Mark McCabe, this is Maniac 2000 given the Ruaile Buaile 2017 treatment is a sound you won't have heard before.

Quite a few of you out there are in love with it already, as the video, recorded live in Dubai when the band performed there on Saint Patrick's Day had amassed close on 40,000 views by Saturday night, having only gone live on YouTube on Friday evening.

And there's the thing about Ruaile Buaile, too, you see. If you thought you knew what to expect from them, well, it wouldn't have been this!

But with a banjo-driven intensity that perfectly encapsulates the band's own high-energy spirit, the midlands foursome of Niall, Jack, Arthur and Shane, have produced a masterpiece of pop perfection that has the primal heartbeat of their trad background pumping through every last note, breath, and second.

By going back in time to reboot this former chart-topper, Ruaile Buaile are at once demonstrating a self-confidence they know they have the ability to back up, while also laying down a marker for the future.

While they may have begun life as a trad band, they set their own limits. And the truth is, they've always played like a band who saw no limits to what they could do anyway.

So if they want to infuse a famous dance hit with the gritty edge of their own Celtic rock and trad roots, then so be it, they will. And they have.

Ruaile Buaile have honed their craft during the course of a journey that's already seen the release of two milestone albums, debut collection, 'Commotion', and more recently, 'This Very Moment', while their tour van has literally crisscrossed the country in every possible direction winning over audiences.

To anyone who's witnessed one of their live shows, it came as no surprise that they ended up sharing a stage with Nathan Carter last New Year's Eve in Killarney. And in fact, the lads are scheduled to perform with Nathan again next month.

Niall and Arthur were also on hand to play a part in the recording of another country giant's latest single, as they featured on Mike Denver's version of Ed Sheeran's 'Nancy Mulligan'.

The whole band are also heading back to the US on tour later this summer, and taking part in a very special tour of the Wild Atlantic Way here at home in June.
'Maniac 2000' proves  that right at the core of this group lies a certain kind of fearlessness that can only be rooted in two things: top-class musicianship, and road-tested friendship.

They know what they can do, and they know who they are. So that allows them the freedom to have fun just doing what they love, and being themselves. And their version of 'Maniac 2000' could well be the song that means an awful lot more people will soon know just what they can do, and who they are, too.

For Ruaile Buaile it's not so much a case of have instruments, will travel, as it is have banjo, will party!