The Alt is a new trio which has taken the world of Irish traditional music by storm. Combining the talents of Nuala Kennedy of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, , on flute and vocals; Dublin-born John Doyle on guitar, Irish bouzouki, and vocals; and fellow Dubliner Eamon O’Leary, also a noted singer and guitar and bouzouki player, The Alt focus on songs, as opposed to instrumental dance tunes, from the Irish, Scottish, English, and American roots traditions.

The trio debuted its new self-titled CD in August at this year’s Milwaukee Irish Festival and is now touring the country. On Monday, September 15, at 7:30 pm, the Fairfield County-based Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society will bring The Alt to Newtown Meeting House.

John Doyle kindly took a few minutes out of his busy schedule — at the time I spoke with him he was in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the Far North Fiddle Fest — to talk about The Alt and how the stunning new collaboration came about.

“Nuala and Eamon have been my friends for many, many years, and we’re all interested in songs and the idea of harmony singing,” Mr Doyle said. “We felt that there was this huge emphasis [in Irish music] just on tunes and melody playing, so we wanted to get together and have a tour and an album just of lovely songs. We started working on that in Sligo a couple of years ago.”

There is no real tradition of harmony singing in Ireland, which makes arranging songs for three singers a challenge.

“Finding our parts is an interesting thing, because it’s not basic to the music, like it is in bluegrass,” he said. “But it’s fun to do, especially when it all comes together and you get this wall of voice.”

The Alt’s arrangements are inspired in part by the classic sounds of Irish music from the 1970s, when bands like Planxty and the Bothy Band were the first to create an organic fusion of the traditional unaccompanied solo singers, fiddlers, and pipers with accompaniment by guitar and Irish bouzouki (an instrument something like a larger, deep-voiced mandolin).

“Eamon and I do a lot of two bouzouki stuff. We’re harkening back to what we listened to as kids, to what Andy [Irvine] and Dónal [Lunny] did in Planxty,” Mr Doyle said.

“The funny part,” he added, “is that all three of us actually like rehearsing, because we like getting stuff together and organizing it.” The results of that friendly, sympathetic, and thoughtful collaboration in their preview tracks and videos are stunning, and the live performance is not to be missed.

Nuala Kennedy grew up in a part of Ireland with close historical ties with Scotland, and has lived in both Edinburgh and the Highland city of Inverness. She is conversant with both Irish and Scottish traditional music and song, and speaks fluent Scots Gaelic as well as Irish.

Eamon O’Leary became immersed in traditional music through his friendship with the Mayock family, noted musicians from County Mayo. A resident of New York City since the 90s, he is a popular accompanist in that city’s thriving Irish scene. Along with Jefferson Hamer he is the other half of The Murphy Beds, a guitar, bouzouki, and vocals duo whose unique blend of Irish and Appalachian traditional music was showcased on their 2012 self-titled album.

John Doyle is the son of Sean Doyle, a traditional singer known for his large repertory of unusual songs. John began playing guitar professionally at 16 years of age, and made his mark with the Irish-American traditional supergroup Solas before embarking on his own thriving solo career. He has toured and recorded with, among many others, Liz Carroll, Chicago’s world-famous Irish fiddler and composer, and the American folk legend Joan Baez.

The artists are reportedly looking forward to this concert every bit as much as their audience. Mr Doyle has played at the historic Main Street meeting house a number of times in the past, with Liz Carroll and the Armagh-born brothers Cillian and Niall Vallely.

“That’s a lovely place to play,” he said, “one of the best venues up there [in Connecticut]. It’s perfect for singing.”

STIMS concerts at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street, have a history of selling out, so reservations are recommended. Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for children under 16. Visit the Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society website or call 203-362-5912 to reserve a seat.