By Emmett Fitzpatrick
The story of the relationship between musicians Ike Reilly and Brendan O’Shea could be captured in a book or a long-form podcast series. There’s that much to probe and uncover. However, the best way to experience this partnership may in fact be on the stage of Schuba’s Tavern, the iconic music venue that will be hosting these two legends for three shows around the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
At Schuba’s, concertgoers will have the chance to see the chemistry – and mutual admiration – between Brendan and Ike that developed over the better part of the last four decades. They will also be treated to a night of unapologetic rock ‘n roll with an Irish flavor, given the time of year, as the duo plans to sing a selection of songs from their own repertoires and those of the late Shane McGowan.
Ask Ike and Brendan how this collaboration first came together, and they will point to two chance encounters. The first took place in Chicago in 1990, at an old Irish bar called Shannacky’s on Southport Avenue. Ike, who hailed from north suburban Libertyville, where he lives today, played a solo guitar and opened for Brendan, an Irish immigrant who was living in Chicago and performing with his band the Drovers.
“We met in the kitchen of Shannacky’s,” Brendan recalls, “and spent the night singing songs together. We got on straight away and felt like we had known each forever.”
As young people do, Brendan and Ike went their separate ways, Ike performing gigs and working as a doorman at the Hyatt Chicago, Brendan moving back to Ireland in 1993. Their second chance encounter did not take place until 1997 in New York City, where Brendan had recently returned to live and Ike was vacationing with his wife Kara Dean.
“One night, I was walking with my wife in Soho around midnight, and we literally walked into someone,” Ike remembers. “It was Brendan, and we connected ever since.”
A simple Google search will show the significant success that each man has achieved in his own respective career. Among his many accomplishments and accolades, Brendan has released several albums and toured all over the world, and he was featured in the movie “Backdraft” after director Ron Howard saw him perform as a member of the Drovers.
For his part, Ike, who earned a degree in theology from Marquette University, boasts an impressive number of records that he has released, and his band – Ike Reilly Assassination - has developed a devoted fanbase, including Stephen King, who called Ike “the Rock God not enough people have heard of.” Ike was the subject of a 2024 documentary - “Don’t Turn your Back on Friday Night” – and collaborated with the likes of his friend Tom Morello – of Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine fame - and Bruce Springsteen. Yes, that Bruce Springsteen. Earlier this year, Ike shared a stage with Tom and Bruce in Minneapolis to deliver a moving performance as part of the Defend Minnesota show in protest of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good and the occupation by ICE in the city. For Ike, this show continued a long career of focusing on social justice, calling out racism and prejudice, and supporting immigrants with his music. As he says, “I’ve been writing about this stuff for a while.”
For all their individual successes, and the impact that Brendan and Ike have made in their own careers, when you talk to the two musicians together, they become most excited – and excitable – when speaking about their friendship and the professional respect they have for the other.
“You come across people in your life, and some you need to hang onto,” Brendan reflects. “Ike is one of those people for me. It’s just natural that we’ll be connected for the rest of my days. I’m grateful. So many musicians are possessive, but Ike isn’t at all.”
Ike echoes those sentiments and also highlights how the two men appreciate and enjoy each other’s music. As he says, “I’m a great fan of Brendan’s work. My family and I listen to it at home all the time.”
The two have been collaborating for decades, touring Ireland for a selection of shows in 2001 and playing a handful of performances together each year.
This year, they will once again be returning to Schuba’s Tavern for three shows around St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Brendan will open the show with his trio and will then join Ike on stage to sing a selection of songs from the Pogues and the Ike Reilly Assassination.
As Ike, who already counts his sons as bandmates, he is looking forward to sharing the stage with them and Brendan; as he says, “It will be a blast.”
While Brendan and Ike have scheduled these shows around St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and their set list will feature the aforementioned Pogues songs, they are quick to point out that they will not be typical St. Patrick’s shows. As Ike clarifies, “These shows are meant to be a celebration of our own, and they happen to be held around St. Patrick’s Day.”
In many ways, the shows’ subtle embrace of Irishness reflects each man’s relationship with what being Irish means to them. On one hand, they are unapologetically proud to be Irish, with Brendan having grown up in Ireland and two of Ike’s grandparents coming from Ireland. Brendan serves as lead singer for Trinity Irish Dance Company, which came through Chicago for a show in February, and he and Ike both call out Shane McGowan as an inspiration – a “beacon,” as Ike calls him – for their music.
Brendan shares, “Being Irish is evident in Ike’s music. The storytelling, the purpose of saying something profound in a way that’s not corny, it’s amazing.”
On the other hand, Brendan and Ike are both quick to point out that they are not living out the stereotypes of the typical Irish person living in America, nor are they tethered to singing Irish songs or limited to performing in Irish pubs, although they have played their fair share of those over the years.
Reflecting on his sense of Irishness, Brendan notes, “Having spent more than half my life in the United States (his wife Jenna is from Pittsburgh), what it means to be Irish is a personal thing to me, as it is for all Irish people. I’m very proud of where I came from, but it’s not all roses being Irish. In America, we get questions like ‘Why are you not drinking, you’re Irish?’ It’s interesting. The greatest thing about being an Irish immigrant in the US is that you see how far a sense of humor goes in a country like this. It’s one of the greatest gifts.”
Another of life’s greatest gifts is friendship. In a world where human interaction has been replaced by technologies like AI, social media, and text messaging, spending time in the same room with Brendan O’Shea and Ike Reilly provides a real-life lesson in true friendship, with all its admiration, good-natured ribbing, and above all, connection with each other. Concertgoers will have the chance to see this on stage at Schuba’s Tavern in March, and it is not to be missed.
Ike Reilly Assassination featuring special guest Brendan O’Shea will perform on March 14, 15, and 17 at Schuba’s Tavern (3159 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago). Tickets on Schuba’s website:
