Bill & I were working the Ceili merch/info booth at a conference in Cleveland in December 2008, and I heard a familiar R&B song from somewhere in the cavernous convention center. First thing I noticed was that the bass line was perfect. This made me assume it was the record- but no sir. Since I knew Ceili bassist Matt Mason was leaving the band, I was naturally curious to check out whomever was producing this great sound. I walked toward it, and saw an Hispanic-looking, handsome young guy with a 4-string in his hands. He had a great physical energy & presence. I kept inching closer hoping he wouldn't see he was being watched & listened to, but he was so good that I got REALLY close. He knew me by sight and started a bit. Meanwhile, I had background-checked him w/ good friend Tom Hild, whom I ran into on my way to watching the bassist in question, and Tom, under threat of physical harm, vouched for this kid as a top-notch human being. That was the day I met Kevin de Souza, and when you see him for your first time on the Ceili stage, you'll be as psyched as I was!

Hailing from the DC area, Kevin’s degree from college is in linguistics, so he's no stranger to the King's English. Kevin restores for us the youth appeal that Daniel Grimsland gave us years prior. Kev teaches bass and has another band called “Uptown Boys Choir" that he is involved with, but we're thrilled he can do the Ceili shows when needed. Please say hello to Kevin when you meet him, he is a FAB cat and will return your warmth for sure!