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Celtic Beat - Vol. 7 No. 6 Equinox 2000
Dedicated to Traditional and Progressive Celtic Music
re-printed with permission

Mance Grady has a rich background. Musical artist, entrepreneur and artisan, he has been a member of Pendragon, Murphy's Law, Nee Ningy Band, and The Erinoids, and notable as a bodhran player who is also a bodhran maker.

Jim Fisher interviewed this Celtic Renaissance man for Celtic Beat. (read the article)

Celtic Heritage Magazine- Sept. 1996
An bodhrán by Cliff McGann

(read the article)

The Times, NC - 1979 by Connie Ballard, Times Staff Writer

"...The Nee Ningy Band is definitely a step off the beaten musical path. Although the five-member group considers its music folk, included in that category is everything from Cajun to country to bluegrass to ragtime to blues to medieval to Irish to European. You name it, Nee Ningy plays it -- and well." "Mance Grady, who joined Nee Ningy a year ago, also has a classical background. Grady now plays the bodhrán, an oversized Irish drum shaped like a tambourine. 'The instrument is really a compact mini-drum set,' Grady explained. 'You can get different tones by putting your hand (at different places) along the skin.'" "Whereas many folk bands try to duplicate old versions of tunes, the Nee Ningy Band freely molds the music to its own style. True folk music, members claim, is the product of continuing evolution."

The Chapel Hill Newspaper, NC - Sunday, Dec. 9, 1979
ABOUT THE ARTS by Charles Horton

"...an ideal setting, as it turned out, for the antics of Clannad, with the Nee Ningy Band..." "The five...who make up Nee Ningy shoot for sort of an Irish-Appalachian sound and hit it unfailingly. Their basic format is fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, bodhrán and washtub bass; they have energy and talent in great quantity and are generous with both."

The Seahawk, NC - Sept. 10, 1980

"The Nee Ningy Band need no introduction in up images of enthusiastic performance..." "Last year, this band took UNCW (The University of NC at Wilmington) by storm, and delivered an enthusiastic concert that recruited even more fans to their already loyal following."

Rhode Island Hand-Built Music Festival '86

"Mance Grady, Bodhrán - One of the finest players of this Irish drum in America, Mance Grady has learned from Ireland's best. Dissatisfied with the quality of the instruments he found, Mance taught himself the technique with an eye to making a sturdier, more versatile-sounding drum. His bodhráns are in great demand around New England, and he performs regularly with the Erinoids and the Providence Ceili Band."

WGBH Celtic Sojourn - Boston, Massachusetts USA
Host Brian O'Donovan summed it up nicely during a broadcast which featured cuts from Mance's self-titled album: "Mance Grady...(is) regarded as one of the finest bodhrán players, actually general percussionists in traditional music...Mance has been around the Boston and New England area for quite a number of years and is known for his colorful bodhráns and his colorful bodhrán and percussion playing...The music he produces is outstanding...This album is certainly a fine one with a lot of great musicians."

Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange - by Lindsay Cobb
Review for the CD by The Revels "Celtic Roads Through Ireland, Scotland & Brittany"

"Of particular note is Mance Grady, who pounds away on his bodhran like a Celtic Mickey Hart."

The Phoenix • Arts & Entertainment - September 22, 1995
Celtic pride, Mance Grady moves beyond the bodhrán by Michael Caito

"Master of the Irish drum, or bodhrán, Mance Grady is ... one of the earlier practitioners of what can be called Celtic fusion. "

"...Grady not only accompanies rhythmically, but also makes inroads as far as creating and sharing harmonies...GradyÕs musicianship is unquestionable...Prepare to gasp at the deftness."

It could be tough sledding, making a bodhrán album that doesn't sound too much like a bodhrán album, but given the assembled talent they make it easy, highlighting the many percussive strengths of Grady while subsuming the contributions of world-class players like Turner and Lech. Well done."

IRISH VOICE Vol. 9 No. 31-32 Wed., July 26, - Aug. 9, '95
Around & About Boston By Alan Loughnane

"...one of the best known bodhrán players in the New England area... a top-class talent ... recognized as a Master Player"

Bodhrán Home Page: Reviews - by Josh Mittleman
Review for the CD "Mance Grady"

"Grady follows the music closely, demonstrating impressive technical proficiency in rhythm, tone & pitch. Several times, I was struck by the beauty of his rhythmic embroidery. I especially enjoyed the contrasts he created by introducing other percussion into Irish traditional music; I thought his conga work was particularly inspired...I was impressed by his virtuosity. Anyone who loves Irish percussion will enjoy this album. Any bodhránist who wants a catalogue of technical skills is not likely to find a better example."

"The bodhrán is a hand-held Irish drum that appears to be a simple instrument. But in the hands of a percussion master like Mance Grady -- who not only plays the bodhrán, but makes them as well -- it can be a remarkably expressive instrument....Turner sings the traditional Kilgerry Mountain and teams up with Grady on two original compositions, Bi Czar and You Started It...the two songs are the most memorable on the record -- a chance to hear two superb musicians strut their stuff."