Piece Hall announcement: This rock band will return for show in Halifax next summer

The headline date Live at The Piece Hall on Saturday June, 12 follows their sold-out show at the venue in 2025. They will be joined on the night by special guests BIIRD.

Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday October 2 via ticketmaster.co.uk.

Since starting out in the Jersey Bar, Tuam, Co. Galway in the 1980’s, The Saw Doctors have graduated from playing sweaty ballroom gigs in Ireland to sold out shows at the Royal Albert Hall and most recently an open-air concert in Central Park, New York.

The Saw Doctors are powered by the band's core songwriting duo, Davy Carton (lead vocals) and Leo Moran (electric guitar) and recently welcomed back one of their founding band members Pearse Doherty on bass guitar, vocals, penny whistle and wooden flute. The eight-man lineup features longtime members Rickie O’Neill (drums), Kieran Duddy (keyboards and accordion) and Tommy Carton (backing vocals) as well as acclaimed sidemen, Anthony Thistlethwaite (saxophone, formerly of The Waterboys) and Noelie McDonnell (guitar and backing vocals, The Whileaways).

Mike Scott of The Waterboys gave The Saw Doctors an early break when he offered the Tuam shams a six-week support slot on the Fisherman’s Blues tour around the UK and Ireland in 1989.

The Saw Doctors second single, I Useta Lover was a surprise Number One hit in Ireland in 1990, remaining top of the charts for nine weeks, going on to become the biggest selling Irish single ever. The band’s debut album If This Is Rock ’n’ Roll, I Want My Old Job Back, which includes the anthemic song N17, has sold half a million copies worldwide.

With their unmistakable energy and timeless appeal, The Saw Doctors continue to solidify their place as one of the best live bands, thrilling audiences both at home and abroad.

Guitarist Leo Moran reflected on the band’s forty year career, and said: “Born into a repressed, catholic, conservative, small-town, agrarian, angst-ridden & showband infested society, The Saw Doctors are trying to preserve the positive elements of our Irish background and marry them to the sounds which have culturally invaded our milieu through TV, radio, social media, 45’s, fast food restaurants, 24-hour petrol stations & electric blankets”.

BIIRD is led by Lisa Canny on harp, banjo and vocals, alongside Laura Doherty on fiddle and guitar, Zoran Donohoe on concertina, Sal Heneghan on fiddle and harp, Miadhachlughain O’Donnell on flute and vocals, Niamh Hinchy on vocals and synth, Ciara Ní Mhurchú on fiddle and Hannah Hiemstra on drums.

Together, they bring a distinctive blend of Irish traditional music, contemporary arrangements and powerful live energy to the stage.

Nicky Chance-Thompson MBE DL FRSA, CEO of The Piece Hall Charitable Trust, said: “This is a very welcome return! The Courtyard was absolutely alive, and fizzing with that distinctive Celtic energy the last time we hosted The Saw Doctors.

“The beauty of our unique heritage site combined with the band’s warmth and authenticity created a real sense of intimacy even among a crowd of 6000!

“There was such a joyful atmosphere, that the whole audience felt like good friends! A recipe for musical magic and I know we’re in for another incredibly special show.”

For more information please visit thepiecehall.co.uk