SlipJig is a band dedicated to the proposition that music should be as much fun as possible.

Their music comes from the traditions of Ireland, Scotland, and other Celtic lands. It spans a range of styles from high-energy jigs and reels to  ancient airs and ballads to raucous pub songs.    SlipJig plays with (mostly) traditional instruments in a (mostly) traditional style and while they make an effort not to break tradition, they admit to bending it on occasion.  SlipJig is based in the Huntsville, Alabama area. 

 Mike Clem handles most of the guitar work, and when he's not playing guitar, he spends the evening bouncing from one instrument to another, a trait he attributes to a short attention span.  Besides guitar, he might also be seen with a mandolin, tenor banjo, whistle or bodhran.  Stephenie Holtkamp combines her classical training and bluegrass fiddling experience to provide a rich harmonic background to SlipJig’s sound.  On stage, Stephenie switches off between fiddle and mandolin.   Mike Lyon, a lifelong highland piper, deftly switches between whistle, low whistle, uilleann pipes, Scottish smallpipes (similar to great highland pipes, only more humane).  He also steps up to the mic as SlipJig's primary vocalist.   Fiddler Phil Williamson is a veteran of several popular north Alabama based Celtic bands and is SlipJig’s melodic backbone.

Coming in March:  Garrett Smith will be joining us on the mandolin, fiddle, and guitar.  Welcome Garrett !!!

Band History

The members of SlipJig met over the course of a few years (2001-2003) playing in the 20+ piece Good Fortune Ceilidh Band.  After a time, a small group of players with similar interests gravitated together and found themselves meeting at Finnegan's Pub after Thursday evening Ceilidh Band rehearsals. There, they would play session tunes, sing songs, tell jokes and stories until far into the night - a weekly tradition that continues to this day.  This weekly session would be the birthplace of Slipjig.  It wasn’t until the Fall of 2003 that SlipJig actually formed as a group.  By the end of the first rehearsal, they were old friends who had been playing together for several years.  SlipJig gave their first public performance on March 17, 2004.

SlipJig released their first CD in March 2007.