Assembled and fronted by Co. Clare singer-songwriter David Hope in the summer of 2009, Hope joined forces with Cork based musicians, Eoin Jordan (The Céilí All Stars) and David Murphy (The Lost Brothers / John Blek & The Rats / Monorail) to form what was the original line up of the band, David Hope & The Henchmen.
David Hope and band quickly made a name for themselves on the Irish Folk / Americana scene and have played many festivals including the Shannonside Winter Music Festival, Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival, The Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival, The Cork Folk Festival, Terminal Convention Music & Arts Festival and The Clonakilty International Guitar Festival plus over 150 gigs at a host of Ireland’s top venues.

The Henchmen’s dynamic sound is steeped in vintage country blues, foot-stompin’ American mountain folk, a pinch of alt.country twang - all soaked in a distinctly Irish whiskey flavour. The band are influenced by many styles of music; the classic rural American recordings of Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hank Williams, the traditional Irish folk of Planxty, great songwriters like Tom Waits and Steve Earle, right up towards the contemporary Americana sounds of Calexico and Gillian Welch.
In 2011, the band launched their EP 'Hell or High Water' produced by the highly acclaimed musician and producer, Declan Sinnott (Christy Moore / Moving Hearts). The first single 'Hell or High Water' was released in April 2011 to great reviews and radioplay and was followed up with the band’s first music video, produced by IMTV award winning film maker, Shaun O’Connor.

Press:

“David Hope & The Henchmen are one of the very best Roots-related outfits operating at present. They seamlessly blend Folk and Roots inflections with grittily intelligent lyrics and enviably catchy choruses which simply cry out for airplay. They’ve finally got all that down on record and they’ve pulled it off in style. Game on.”
- Whisperin’ and Hollerin’ (U.K.)

“…’Hell or High Water’ is a melting pot of traditional American country, traditional Irish and rootsy Americana. The Declan Sinnott production on the track allows Hope’s vocals to breathe while surrounded by a fantastic arrangement. Subtle electric guitar licks and bass never overpower while a brushed snare rhythm drives the track on.”
-nessymon.com (Irl)

“Quality first single from the recently formed group, David Hope & The Henchmen … it’s a great introduction to the band who have a bunch of amazing songs in them!”
- 2 U I Bestow (Irl)



Ben Blance is originally from Hexham in the North East of England, he has been a solo artist since 2002. His songs have been featured numerous times on BBC and RTE stations and showcases.He has performed extensively around Ireland and Europe with the eclectic folk group Jukebox Gypsy building a huge cult fan base .Highlights include slots at Electric picnic, Oxygen, Body&soul  and Clonakilty International guitar festivals. Jukebox gypsy recorded three critically acclaimed albums and were a mainstay on the Folk circuit in southern Ireland for a decade. Recently The Gypsies have just released a second Live album recorded over two days at Levis`s corner house Ballydehob, West Cork Ireland.
Ben has also released three solo albums for North east labels Different sky and Northern lights records and a collection of his songs can be found on Soundcloud, Spotify and Itunes. Ben has a degree in music from the University of Liverpool, a performance diploma in the Recorder from Trinity College and an MA in Music Psychotherapy from the University of South Wales in Cardiff. He currently lives in London works as a Music Therapist and has recently formed folk duo Absynthe Father.

Joe Devanney is following