Liam Lawton

In the course of his career, Liam Lawton has gone from promising young composer, to Catholic priest, to reputed liturgical composer, to world music giant. Lawton grew up in a musical household, born of a long line of musicians. His parents were both career musicians, followed by his seven brothers who all made their professional lives in music. Lawton took a special interest in traditional Irish music early on, second only to his love of composition. An accomplished piano player at an early age, Lawton began to write and perform his own compositions as a teenager. Lawton went on to study music at Maynooth. He won several songwriting competitions and garnered the interest of record labels all over Ireland before deciding to study for the priesthood. Ordained in 1984, Lawton served as a parish priest in Carlow, a small town south of Dublin. Some seven years later opportunities arose to perform, and Lawton was quickly rediscovered by the liturgical music community. A deal with GIA allowed Lawton to publish and record his own liturgical compositions. His work earned him opportunities to perform to enormous audiences worldwide, punctuated by a 1997 headlining performance at a Christian music festival in Anaheim, CA, where he performed for better than 20,000 people. Beginning in 2000 Lawton's name was not only associated with quality liturgical music, but Irish culture at large. His secular accomplishments during that time included commissions from the mayor of Chicago promoting Irish catholic culture and the post-9/11 widespread popularity of his song "The Cloud's Veil." In 2002 Lawton established his own group, Lorica. The vocal/instrumental group toured tirelessly throughout the U.K., Australia, the U.S., and across Europe. Lawton's group was offered a deal by EMI in 2004 for the release of their debut record, Another World. The release initiated a sold-out tour of Ireland, including better than 50 stops. Lorica's follow-up disc, Time, was released roughly a year later to a similar response. The tour that followed produced a live in-concert DVD. Lawton's 2006 release Song of the Celtic Soul was recorded live and outdoors in front of an audience of 5,000. The CD/DVD release hit shelves in 2007, generating the most impressive sales of Lawton's career. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi