Our Story

"The Irish heartbeat cannot be found in the bottom of a pint of Guinness. It’s not revealed by a marching procession of politicians or via the aroma of boiled dinners; and it’s certainly not exemplified by a slew of stumbling locals clad in green costumes....It can be found in the stories and sounds of Ireland's music — and the members of South Buffalo’s Crikwater know it."
-Michael Farrell, The Buffalo News

“Crikwater plays a variety of traditional Irish songs...The songs are important, Caulfield said, because they provide a sense of where the Irish people have been. 'It's living history...It's one way to tell the story of the Irish people.' ” 
- Michael Canfield, Buffalo Rising 

    Born in the rustbelt Irish American neighborhood of South Buffalo, NY in 2010, Crikwater have become the premier Irish American Traditional Folk Band in Western New York. The pub-scene veterans offer up a mix of fiery fiddle tunes, rowdy pub sing-a-longs, elegant ballads & original songs, and have appeared numerous times at both the Buffalo Irish Festival & South Buffalo Irish Feis & Expo. 

    Their long awaited 2017 self-titled follow up to their debut album (2012's "Don't Stop 'til the Ship Goes Down") is the first to spotlight the smoking hot fiddle playing of Charlie Coughlin, and was recorded live in studio at Advanced Audio Productions in Orchard Park, NY.  The CD/Album cover features original artwork from friend and local talent, Michael Schroeder.

    Boasting four multi-instrumentalists and an energetic live show, Crikwater stays true to folk conventions while adding to the venerable Irish and American folk music traditions with arrangements that include multi-part vocal harmonies and intricate musicianship. Their music conjures scenes of gritty smokey Irish pubs, whiskey, pints of stout, and good craic.

    Over the past six years, Crikwater has played to audiences of all sizes throughout the Buffalo region and has made it their mission to have fun and to preserve the ages-old folk tradition that they so thoroughly enjoy...so that people remember where this music comes from in the hope to make audiences young and old love the tunes as they do. 

Liam Caulfield - Bouzouki, Mandolin, Bodhran, Harmonica,Whistle, Voice

Matthew Sperber - Guitar, Harmonica, Fiddle, Voice

Charlie Coughlin - Fiddle, Mandolin, Button Box, Whistle, Voice

Peter Zalocha - Banjos, Mandolin, Guitar, Voice