Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Bealtaine

“Not only do the Irish have a long and deep connection to Palestinian solidarity specifically,” White said, “but we knew personally we had to do our small part to contribute to such an important cause.”

The band released their latest album, “Factories & Mills, Shipyards & Mines,” last year.

”We had a ton of fun making it and hope that it comes across that way in the songs,” White said. “It was our first time fully in the studio with this band and it was quite the experience. Jake Hanner, who engineered, mixed, and mastered the album, is an absolute wizard. We’d love to work with him again for the next one.”

White singled out “Workers Song” as a highlight from the album.

“It was written by Ed Pickford and has made its way into the repertoire of tons of musicians, notably by Scottish singer Dick Gaughan and even Dropkick Murphys have given it a go,” he said. “It really speaks to the struggles that the working classes have gone through for ages, ‘from tilling the field to carrying the gun,’ while the bosses and the rich keep all profits for themselves and the poor have ‘never owned one lousy handful of earth.’ An unfortunately ever appropriate song for our age.”

When it comes to their live shows, White said the band tends to stay away from standard pub songs “in favor of ones that are deeper in storytelling and history.”

“When we spot someone singing along to those songs, tapping their feet with the tune sets, or shouting at the appropriate times during certain Pogues songs,” he said, “it really gives a great feeling that those people appreciate the music as much as we do.”

White cited The Pitch on Butler and Cork Harbour Pub (both in Lawrenceville), as well as J. Gough’s Tavern in Greenfield, as favorite venues.

“J. Gough’s Tavern will always be a special place for us,” he said. “The band started there, and while we have too many people in the band now to fit, we find ourselves back there frequently for pints and food and to play a few tunes at their sessions.”

With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, the band will be busy in the coming weeks, but they’ve seen interest grow in other times.

”March is generally the biggest month given that’s when most of the general public is interested in our genre,” White said. “But recent years have been staying fairly steady all through until the winter months. Lots of new festivals have been coming our way outside of the city, and things really pick up again around September with the Pittsburgh Irish Festival and other events of that sort.”