Bodhrán & Thumb Piano

Percussionist Robbie Harris has collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Bobby McFerrin, Afro Celt Sound System, Clannad, Bob Geldof, Kodaline, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Jimmy Webb, Celtic Woman, Secret Garden, Brian Kennedy, Sharon Corr, Finbar Furey, Moya Brennan, Stockton's Wing, The High Kings, Luka Bloom, Mundy, Ryan Sheridan, Steve Cooney, and Dónal Lunny. He has also worked with world music artists like Hector Zazou, Nitin Sawhney, Theodosii Spassov, Mamady Keïta, Savina Yannatou, Francesco Turrisi, and the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan.

He toured extensively with Riverdance: The Show before joining its Broadway production at the Gershwin Theatre in New York, where he was also featured on the new cast recording. While in New York, he served as a guest lecturer at The Juilliard School and The New School, NYC. Harris has performed with various orchestras, including the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Galician Philharmonic Orchestra, and Il Giardino Armonico.

As the Musical Director of The Rhythm Corporation, he led a thirty-member drum corps at cultural and international sports events in Dublin’s Croke Park and Aviva Stadium. He also served as the Musical Director for St Patrick’s Festival’s production City Fusion, a massive piece of street theatre with 250 performers from 30 different countries, which won the Best Pageant Award consecutively from 2007 to 2009. Harris co-directed the Big Bang Festival of Rhythm from 2006 to 2020, celebrating diverse drumming styles and the influence of rhythm on dance, voice, and the visual arts.

In 2000, he curated and released Pure Bodhrán, a double album featuring 19 leading exponents of the Irish drum, including the instrument's first recording from 1927. In 2016, Harris formed Jiggy, a band known for blending traditional music with world rhythms and dance grooves. Their video Silent Place went viral in September 2018, garnering over 65 million online views and propelling the band to international acclaim. Their albums Translate and Hypernova have reached the top of the world music charts on iTunes in several countries.

Additionally, Harris is a co-director of 360 Entertainment, a multi-award-winning company that provides cultural dance and music performances in Ireland and internationally, including Europe, the USA, and Asia.

Bodhrán & Thumb Piano

Robbie Bodhrán Harris