The Makem & Spain Brothers

American folk group from New England states specializing in Celtic music. Formed in early 2003, when [a=The Makem Brothers] were teamed with The Spain Brothers, [a=Liam Spain] and [a=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 "[a=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.