The Silver Spring Penguin

Just in time for St Patty’s Day, two bands tinge their tunes with different shades of green.

Baltimore’s Donegal Xpress (above) combines a traditional Irish sound (by way of acoustic guitars, a fiddle and the occasional pan flute) with contemporary American rock grooves. What results is a musical “Gangs of New York” — something distinctly American yet weighed down with the old country’s burdens.

The band’s most recent album, last year’s “Father O’Leary’s Memorial Boys Club”, is laced with brooding ballads about marching off to war. The band’s American roots construct metaphors for current conflicts, though the wailing fiddle harks back to ancient battles fought on rolling Irish hills.

“Quinn’s Diaries”, which Donegal Xpress cut in 2000, explores the immigrant experience of leaving home for an alien land. The songs’ internal conflict — of having two feet on American soil while the heart is back in county Cork somewhere — is truly Irish American and well illustrated.

Hear more song samples from Donegal Xpress’s website, then catch them live at — where else — McGinty’s Public House (911 Ellsworth Dr). That gig drops tonight, Mar 7, at 10:00 p.m. The house usually charges a $5 to $10 cover.

For deeper Irish roots, there’s North Carolina’s The New Familiars (left). While the band doesn’t advertise itself as Irish-American folk rock, its bluegrass soul definitely traces back to the Emerald Isle.

Way back in the day, Irish immigrants brought their musical and lyrical styles to Appalachia. Over the years, the sound evolved into American bluegrass. Shamrocks became mountain laurel, Irish whiskey became corn hooch, but the universal conflict of love gained then lost remained embedded in the music’s DNA.

The New Familiar’s “Annalein” illustrates that point. The rolling rhythm, coupled with a dark tone and lovelorn lyrics, are a tip of the cap to Ireland. But the song’s slide guitar gives it that “Made in the USA” stamp. “Walkin’ Whiskey Blues” is a couple generations away from its Irish roots, but that same rolling rhythm wears an unmistakable shade of green.

Sample The New Familiars on their MySpace page, then catch the live show at the Quarry House Tavern (8401 Georgia Ave) on Thursday, Mar 13, at 8:00 p.m. Again, the house usually hits you for a $5 to $10 cover.

Photos: (top) The Donegal Xpress; (left) The New Familiars. Courtesy of the respective bands.