The Makem & Spain Brothers

American folk group from New England states specializing in Celtic music. Formed in early 2003, when The Makem Brothers were teamed with The Spain Brothers, Liam Spain and Mickey Spain. Note: the band's first album "Like Others Did Before Us" (2004) was released under the "The Makem Brothers with Mickey and Liam Spain" name. In 2010 Shane Makem left the band; and when Conor Makem left the band in 2014 as well, changed name to just "Makem & Spain". In October 2013, Conor Makem was arrested for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a women's bathroom. The police confiscated his American and Irish passports, which prevented him from participating in the band's annual musical tour of Ireland. Conor Makem was sentenced to a year incarceration at Strafford County House of Corrections in May 2014 after pleading guilty to 19 invasion of privacy charges. According to their website www.makem.com, the band, now a trio consisting of Rory Makem, Mickey Spain and Liam Spain, was officially renamed Makem & Spain. In 2012, The Makem and Spain Brothers created their first Kickstarter campaign drive to help fund their next two albums, a two volume set titled Sessions Vol. 1 and Sessions Vol. 2 which would feature a multitude of guest musicians including but not limited to Tom Paxton, Schooner Fare, The Shaw Brothers, Gordon Bok and David Mallett. A goal of $15,000 was surpassed, capping out at over $20,000. After several delays, "Makem & Spain Brothers Sessions Vol. 1" saw a limited release in late May 2014 to contributors. On June 3, the album, re-titled "Sessions, Vol. I - Makem and Spain," was released on iTunes. Finally, on August 3, it was released on compact disc to the general public. There are two different versions of the album cover; copies distributed to Kickstarter contributors contain the group name "The Makem & Spain Brothers" with photos of all four group members at the time; copies available to purchase by the general public on August 3 and henceforth include the new group name, "Makem & Spain", with photos of just Rory, Mickey and Liam.