Shepard’s Folly emphasizes traditional Celtic music and styles, played with a feeling and grace that comes with decades of experience in the genre. Vocalists Patti Anne Lea and Ray Kamalay provide a rich selection of traditional Celtic songs and ballads that complement the band's wide range and depth of instrumentals, from slow Scottish airs to the lively dance music of Ireland.

The group’s first CD was released October 27, 2001. Included is Patti’s original song “Sparrow,” arranged with lively improvisations on flute, fiddle and guitar that complement Patti’s sometimes ethereal, sometimes driving vocal rendition. As in all the songs, Patti’s voice in “Sparrow” projects intense and deep feelings while the fresh instrumental arrangement shapes a context that makes the feelings interesting and positive, even transformative and uplifting.

In the jigs and reels, the group’s distinctive unisons are provided by Phil Shepard on flute or whistle, John Sands on fiddle and Ray Kamalay on guitar. The group’s varied repertoire is reflected on the CD by two rarely played strathspeys, one from the Shetland Islands and one from O’Neil’s that gets reworked into a jig along the way in this arrangement. 

In the campus paper’s coverage of the CD release, Bob Blackman - host of "Folk Traditions" on WKAR FM East Lansing - comments, "I was really pleased - they play well and have a really nice sound."

In the selection of material and the way they present it, Shepard’s Folly aims to make the music accessible to newcomers as well as exciting to Celtic buffs. Phil Shepard, the leader of the band, commented on the CD release, “We confound the usual expectation that musicians be young, the music new, and the performance proof of talented stars. Instead, we offer old music played by musicians with a solid feel for the genre. And it’s the music itself that shines. Our job is to get out of the way and let the music captivate the audience.”

Phil Shepard is trained on the classical concert flute and equally adept at whistle and traditional flute. The driving tones of his Eugene Lamb flute ground the dance tunes, . . . until his hot whistle lifts the energy to a new level. When Patti sings, the flute echos her ethereal sound adding depth to the feeling.

Patti Anne Lea is the songstress and songwriter.  Full of feeling, her singing epitomizes the tradition and renews it with original songs that grace each show. Her drumming adds a finishing stroke to the dance tunes, while her work on the bousouki gives a fresh feel to the strathspeys and slow jigs.

John Sands has been devoted to session music for most of his adult life. His command of Celtic styles is elegant and simple. He plays the fiddle with a clarity that appeals to newcomers and a deftness that is appreciated by old hands who know the tradition well.

Ray Kamalay is an internationally known blues and jazz guitarist. But his sweet voice and guitar gusto reveal a love of Celtic music that has carried many a show, in Edinburgh and Galway as well as Boston and Detroit.