On Saturday, Nov. 24, the Makem Brothers will make their eighth annual appearance at the Rochester Opera House, on Wakefield Street in Rochester. Joined, as usual, by Mickey and Liam Spain, with whom the Makems have shared the stage since 2002, the five-piece band will shower the audience with traditional Irish folk music by the pint-full. Conor, Shane and Rory Makem—the three sons of iconic Irish folk bard Tommy Makem—have been playing music together for about 16 years. In that time, the band of brothers has released six albums, including two with the Spain Brothers, and has recorded several TV shows. Another CD and a DVD, recorded just a few weeks ago, are due out next spring. Tommy Makem, a longtime Dover resident, succumbed to cancer in August at the age of 74. A former member of the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem was considered “The Godfather” of Irish music by fans around the world. Now, his sons are carrying the torch, touring internationally and at home on the Seacoast, where folk audiences are hungrier than ever for authentic Irish song. Conor Makem, who lives in Dover, chatted with The Wire by email from Ireland during a 10-day tour of his homeland. When he’s not playing guitar and singing folk songs, the youngest Makem brother is a writer for The Rochester Times. Setting aside time between gigs in Ireland, Conor discussed the band’s history and future, the crippling loss of his father, and the current state of Irish folk music.

How’s the tour going in Ireland?
The tour is going great. This is our ninth year, and we always have repeats who we’ve gotten to know pretty well, so we enjoy meeting up with them every year. And, if you’re going to meet someone, you could do a lot worse than meeting them in Ireland.

Do you still have a lot of family back home?
Let’s put it this way: One time Shane, Rory and I were walking through Keady, where our father was raised, and as we were walking past a bar, a man delivering beer asked if we were Makems. When we said we were, he told us he was our cousin and maybe we should go into the bar for a pint. I asked if he didn’t have a job to do and he said it could always be put on hold for a beer with cousins. So, yes.

How old were you when your family moved to the States?
I was four. Believe it or not, I had an Irish accent until second or third grade here. The nuns even put me into speech therapy. After about a month, my mother found out about it and asked the principal why I was in there. She asked my mother if she hadn’t ever noticed a problem with the way I talked. My mother told her that I had an Irish accent and I was pulled out, but a month of therapy cured me of it. Now that I think about it, there were two other Irish kids in the class, too. I don’t have a problem with the nuns not recognizing an accent, but the speech therapist? She must have thought she was curing an epidemic.

What was it like growing up surrounded by so much music?
We never knew life was any different with other families. It was just the way life was. Our father would be gone for two to three weeks and then he’d be back home for two to three weeks. Every once in awhile, a bunch of people would show up and there’d be music. It seemed pretty normal to me.

At what age did you begin playing guitar and singing?
I started playing guitar at 19. Shane and Rory started a few years before me. Shane played bass in an alternative rock band in high school. Then, he told Rory that girls liked banjos, and (Rory) believed him. Shane’s roommate in college worked in an Irish bar in Massachusetts, and they were both in the kitchen one day. The owner asked the roommate who the hell the other guy was, and when he said “Tommy Makem’s son,” the man asked if (Shane) wanted a gig. Shane and Rory got guitars for Christmas and were playing the gig about a month later.

Was there a feeling at a young age among you and your brothers that you wanted to carry the torch and keep Irish music alive in America?
Not at all. Even in college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a real job. We had always listened to a lot of different kinds of music growing up, and Rory was probably the only one in his class who knew more Pete Seeger songs than Bob Seger songs. But, we still see the career as being kind of surreal.

How did you and your brothers originally link up with the Spain Brothers?
The Spains used to play at Biddy Mulligan’s in Dover. When we’d go in there, we were surprised to see other guys our age singing the same songs we liked singing, so eventually, we ended up having sessions together. Sessions are parties set up around singing and playing. After a while, we realized we had to be performing together.

As a band, you guys have traveled and played shows internationally. What are some of the more unusual cities, states or countries where you have played around the world?
I’m not sure anyplace we’ve played counts as unusual. Interesting? Hawaii, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Louisiana, Montana. Well, we’ve played in a zoo, a water park, the World Cup. We’ve played in some interesting places. A pretty good percentage of the states.

Do you find that the reaction from audiences differs depending on where you are playing? Or does Irish folk music seem to resonate equally with just about everyone?
Audiences definitely differ from place to place. It’s sometimes surprising where you get amazing reactions from crowds. We just recorded a DVD and CD in Montana, and the crowd was phenomenal. The crowds around here are always great. We know a lot of the crowds here personally, and it really is playing at home for us.

It seems like Irish music really encourages audience participation, as far as people singing along and dancing and reacting in a vocal and physical way. Does that sort of audience energy feed into your live performances?
You wouldn’t believe how important the audience is. Putting on a show is a walk in the park when the audience is cheering you on.

If you had to estimate, how many live, public shows would you say you’ve performed in your life?
I am being completely honest when I say that I have no idea. I’ve been in the band since 1991, and my brothers were going for a couple years before that. More than 1,000 and fewer than 10,000. How’s that?

You are brothers, of course. Do you ever fight and bicker and pull each other’s hair?
Believe it or not, we all get along extremely well.

Do you feel there is still a large audience for Irish folk music on the New Hampshire Seacoast?
I do indeed.

Your father was battling cancer for a long time, but how did it affect you and your brothers when he actually passed away?
It affected the whole family immensely. Still, everyone around here helped us a lot. I still can’t say enough about the Dover Fire and Police, St. Ann Home and Wentworth-Douglass staff. It was unbelievable, the amount of support we got from the community. But, it’s an ongoing process. Our mother died in 2001, so both of our parents are gone now, and I can’t say a parent passing is something I’ll ever really get over.

He was so beloved, both as a musician and a man. Do you find that his fans now turn to the Makem Brothers with expectations of fulfilling that void in the Irish music scene?
I wouldn’t say anyone is expecting us to fill the void left by our father, but I think there are a lot of expectations. It’s something we definitely take seriously. As much as what we do is a lot of fun, we also know there are a lot of people looking toward us to keep a tradition going.

What direction do you think Irish music is headed in the U.S.? I mean, you see bands like Dropkick Murphys and The Swaggerin’ Growlers implementing Irish music into punk songs. Are there other new directions the music is heading?
It is definitely branching out. I think that’s good in a lot of ways. I don’t listen to Celtic rock much at all, so I guess I can’t really say much about it. Celtic rock and instrumental music have just been on fire for years now, but cultural music fans are always going to be drawn to tradition, as well. There will likely always be Irish music being mixed with different and emerging music as younger generations pick it up. But, usually, as people learn more about the culture, they get interested in the more traditional bands.

What can guests expect to hear at the Rochester Opera House on Nov. 24?
We’ve been building a distinctive repertoire for years now. We never like to do the same show, and try to add in something new whenever we play. This show has come to be the beginning of the holiday season, though, so we’ll put in some Christmas songs as per usual.

What do you think the future holds for the Makem and Spain Brothers?
I hold out a lot of hope for us. You could say I have faith in this band. What I hope for and what I think will happen are pretty close, I guess. We’ll continue to sing songs we like to sing. I’m just hoping people will continue to like what we do.

The Nov. 24 show at the Rochester Opera House costs $25 ($20 for students and seniors) and begins at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit www.rochesteroperahouse.com or call 603-335-1992. For more information on the Makem and Spain Brothers, or on the late Tommy Makem, visit www.makem.com.