Steve Welsh is an ebullient newcomer to Dublin’s creative community. Most recently from Detroit, and previously a longtime Brooklynite, he has always been voraciously curious and creatively omnivorous . From jazz to indie rock to avant-garde to queer cabaret to pop to classical and electronic music, Steve has remained active in many genres for the last several decades. He currently performs widely across Dublin’s jazz scene and also performs and produces electronic music under the moniker Portamentous.

Some of the more popular artists Steve has performed and recorded with over the years include: Yo La Tengo, The Arcade Fire, Justin Vivian Bond, Father John Misty, Adam Horovitz (the Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock), Broken Social Scene, Shakira, Page McConnell (Phish, Vida Blue), Wyclef Jean (Fugees), Kenny Rogers, and Frankie Valli among many others in the pop and indie music milieu.

After an early stint touring the States with one of the last remaining “ghost bands” from the big band era, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Steve hit the New York scene in the early 2000s. He was a vital part of the downtown jazz community, collaborating with the likes of Ralph Peterson, Mike Moreno, Marc Ribot, Dave Douglas, Seamus Blake, Kenny Wolleson, Nir Felder, Steve Bernstein, Sunny Jain, Rez Abassi, Lonnie Plaxico, Sammy Figueroa, Marc Cary, Jonathan Goldberger, Brian Drye, Jim Black, Medeski, Martin & Wood, and countless others.

While attending the University of Miami on scholarship, Steve had the opportunity to study and perform with Joe Lovano, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Maria Schneider, Kenny Werner, Chico O’Farrill, and enjoyed a years-long apprenticeship with Ira Sullivan. While based in Miami, Steve became a founding member of the Afro-Cuban funk collective the Spam All Stars, with whom he has toured and recorded for upwards of twenty years.

In addition to regularly performing in Dublin’s jazz scene, Steve’s other creative focus is electronic music production - deeply exploring analog and modular synthesis. A longtime devotee of minimalist composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley as well as electronic maximalists like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin, Steve is currently producing and performing (usually from behind a wall of various electronics) as Portamentous.