Guggenheim Grotto at the me and thee coffeehouse

When Dublin alt-folk songwriters Kevin May and Mick Lynch of The Guggenheim Grotto first appeared on the U.S. scene in 2006, comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel dominated the critical landscape. With their two-part harmonies, folk-acoustic stylings and earnest pop songwriting, it seemed no one could resist.
Over the past four years, however, the duo has transcended the comparison creating rich, multi-instrumental soundscapes. They dabble in synths and effects and radiate melancholic beauty. And sometimes… Show more they silence a room by simply harmonizing over a lone ukulele. Always though, their songwriting is marked with a belief in the promises of the universe, a curiosity about humanity and a hopeless romanticism embodied by only the most passionate of artists and dreamers.
This romanticism shines on the band's new album, The Universe Is Laughing. A lyrical journey through life's beautiful mysteries, the record sees Kevin and Mick further develop themes of self-discovery and enlightenment they first visited on 2009's Happy The Man.
The Guggenheim Grotto emerged in 2005 to critical acclaim in Ireland with its debut album Waltzing Alone when the first single "Told You So" reached No. 12 on the Irish National Airplay Charts. Later the band found success abroad much in part to early champions like David Dye at WXPN in Philadelphia, XM Radio's "The Loft" and Nic Harcourt at KCRW in Los Angeles. Waltzing Alone eventually spent weeks at the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Folk Chart in April 2007 after the opening track "Philosophia" was chosen as iTunes Free Single of the Week. The song was also featured on the first generation iPhone as a sample song on test models in stores and "Told You So" made it onto a Starbucks Hear Music sampler alongside Damien Rice, James Blunt and Amy Winehouse
Two years later The Guggenheim Grotto released Happy The Man as an iTunes exclusive in October 2008, and the album quickly rose again to No. 1 on the iTunes Folk Chart. January 2009 saw the physical release, and the band spent much of the year traversing these United States to promote it from playing listening rooms across the country to large festivals, performing on nationally syndicated programs like E-Town in Boulder, CO and Charleston, WV's Mountain Stage and opening dates with Ani DiFranco and They Might Be Giants. The album received tremendous support from Triple A radio, several songs made their way into major network primetime TV shows like One Tree Hill and Brothers And Sisters, and a YouTube featured video for the first single, "Her Beautiful Ideas," garnered over 160,000 views in just a few days.
In June 2010 The Guggenheim Grotto released its third album, The Universe Is Laughing, on United For Opportunity. The band moved to the U.S. and began a series of weekly residencies in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego that grew wildly, ending in some truly special nights with rooms packed of newly charmed fans. In Los Angeles, the story came full circle during the band's last night at The Hotel Caf

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