DUG made an impactful entrance to the world in October 2023 when folk musicians Jonny Pickett and Lorkin O’Reilly teamed up to create the Irish trad and American old-time supergroup.

With only two singles released under their name, DUG have sold out three shows in Whelan’s, played to packed rooms at Other Voices in Dingle, toured the States, opened for Iron & Wine, Amble and The Scratch and have been shortlisted for two Grammy nominations.

The band have shared new track ‘Wheel of Fortune’ via A for Effort Records. Produced by Belfast singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside, it features a choir of students from TU Dublin conducted by Ben Rawlins. ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is also paired with the release of American old-style tune ‘Good Time People’, featuring Burnside on fiddle and vocals.

Of their new track, the band say; “Wheel Of Fortune was written as a sort of counterweight to our first single ‘Jubilee’. I’ve always loved songs that are written around a strict structure. When the structure works, the writing becomes similar to painting by numbers except none of the designated areas are numbered.

“It’s a mixture of creative freedom and captivity. When you’re restricted in how you can say something because of structure, more emphasis gets placed on how the lines relate to each other. The mechanics of the song work as one unit together as opposed to a set of individual stand out lines. The puzzle is neverending. I’m sure there will be more DUG songs like this in the future.”

DUG will play a headline tour around Ireland with a full band and support from esteemed accordion player Seamas Hyland or The Glass Hour. The tour commence in Bree’s in Strandhill on February 27th and concludes in Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre on Friday, April 25th.

To celebrate the release of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Dug have shared a live video of themselves performing the track in their local pub Hynes with Joshua Burnside joining them on fiddle.

Tickets for DUG’s upcoming tour can be found here.