Biography

From Belfast, N. Ireland, Stephen Maguire now splits his time between the emerald isle and the Canadian prairies. Involved in music from a young age, Stephen grew up listening to his parents’ record collection. His father Patrick Maguire, who played in show bands and rock & roll bands in the 60s (including with Van Morrison!) would play cassettes of The Mamas & the Papas, The Beach Boys and Irish traditional music.

Stephen performed his first solo concert in 1998 with the Northern Irish band Cahuna at Belfast’s famous Ulster Hall. In 2001, he auditioned for The Talent, a search for performers throughout Northern Ireland. This led to Stephen signing with Unity. Among the band’s highlights: supporting chart-topping band Westlife on their “Unbreakable” tour. Throughout Unity’s time together, they performed for over a quarter of a million people.

Since leaving the band, Stephen has been in much demand as a solo artist. He has also recorded with Terry Sharp (The Adventurers), Nicky Scott (Van Morrison's former musical director and bass player) and Mark Dougherty (former musical director of Riverdance). A memorable gig was at a Belfast Giants games, which resulted in Stephen meeting his now-wife, a Saskatchewan-native, who was interning with the professional hockey team. They married in 2007 and Stephen has been touring the prairies ever since.

Recent highlights include performing at the 2010 Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, opening for Grammy award winner Nanci Griffith and supporting five-time Grammy winner B.J. Thomas on his 2009 Saskatchewan tour dates, both as a solo act and with The Stephen Maguire Project. Stephen's band is showcasing at the 2010 Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in Regina and will be making an appearance at the Edmonton Celtic Festival.

Stephen released his new album 'Irish Soul' in March 2010, recorded at the Gemini-nominated Cosmic Pad Studios. It is enjoying radio play in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Australia, Canada and the U.S. Available now from iTunes, Amazon and CD Plus.

Audiences can’t get enough of Stephen Maguire… the music, the Irish banter and stories of the many artists he’s toured with, from Van Morrison to Charley Pride to Bonnie Tyler.