Since their last visit to the William Kennedy Piping Festival, At First Light have gone through some personnel changes with the introduction of Alan Burke and Ruben Bada. In the meantime also John McSherry and Donal O'Connor have released the highly praised album - Tripswitch.

John McSherry (uilleann Pipes, Low whistles)
John Mc Sherry is hailed as one of the finest exponents of the art of Uilleann piping in the world today. Coming from a Belfast family steeped in traditional music, John focused his energies on the pipes from an early age. By the time he reached fifteen he had two All Ireland Championship titles under his belt and at the age of eighteen he was the youngest ever winner of the senior Oireachtas piping competition. Combining with his musical siblings, John formed the band 'Tamalin', bringing their unique blend of Irish, Breton, rock and eastern music to enthusiastic audiences around the world. By the age of 25, he had gained a reputation as a world class studio session musician, recording and performing with people of the calibre of Clannad, Nancy Griffiths, Shaun Davey, Dónal Lunny and Dan ar Braz, Sinead O'Connor, Riverdance and even Ornette Coleman. He was a founding member Lúnasa as well as Dónal Lunny's Coolfin.

Dónal O'Connor (Fiddle, Keyboards)
Son of the celebrated fiddler Gerry O'Connor and renowned singer Eithne Ní Uallacháin, Dónal O'Connor has inherited a great musical legacy of at least five generations of fiddle playing. Highly regarded as a fiddle player, he was asked, at the tender age of twenty one, to take part in the prestigious ‘Music Network Tour of Ireland' alongside Scottish Guitarist Tony Mc Manus, Fermanagh purveyor of song Gabriel McArdle and John Mc Sherry. Recent collaborations have included performances with Michael McGoldrick, Karan Casey and Séamus Tansey and recording work with Brian Kennedy and Máire Brennan.

Francis McIlduff (Bodhrán, Uilleann Pipes, Low Whistles)
Born into the legendary McPeake family in Belfast, Francis McIlduff was introduced to the sights and sounds of traditional music at a very early age, and whilst widely recognised today as one of the finest pipers in the Ireland, it was on the bodhran that he made his debut performance at the age of 12. Since debuting with the family band, ' Clann McPeake' at a very tender age, Francis has gone on to perform with some of the foremost traditional and contemporary artistes in music today, including Alias Ron Kavana, Sin E, Afterhours' and Hungarian based traditional outfit 'Fianne'

Alan Burke (Guitar, Vocals)
Alan started his singing career fronting the Irish band Afterhours with whom he released three recordings,all of which were widely received and toured extensively throughout Europe, Canada and America. On the demise of that group Alan began a new venture with the release of his first solo CD “On the Other Hand” 1998. This was followed in 2000 by his second solo recording “Tip of the Tongue”. Both these recordings received high praise and his subsequent touring brought him everywhere from Bahrain to Belfast to Croatia to Cardiff...and on.....

Rubén Bada (Bouzouki, Guitar, Fiddle)
Rubén Bada was born in Avilés, in the northern coast of Asturies, and raised in the Cape Peñes area. Ruben got his hands on his first guitar at the age of 14 having experimented with many instruments from the age of eight including the Trombone! After listening to some Bothy Band and Llan de Cubel tapes, he realized that the traditional music he had listened to since child could be taken further and that strings could be a key ingredient. In 2004 Rubén moved to Belfast, and soon became part of the local music scene. Currently, Rubén is playing with the band DRD, and in February 2006, was awarded "Best Instrumentalist" in the Asturian Music Awards.