by Kenny Giustino
I first saw Kathy Fee perform at Rory Dolan’s on McLean Avenue in Yonkers. Kathy was the front person for the traditional Irish band, Celtic Cross. Their traditional vibe was influenced by rock ‘n’ roll and country, creating a sound all their own. They would always turn the night into a party!
Kathleen calls Montauk home, where she and her husband, Keven, raised their four sons. She now divides her time between the shores of Long Island and the studios of Nashville, working on a solo project developing a unique, genre-blending style of country music. In August of 2024, she released “Glitter Gold” at the Surf Lodge in Montauk, sharing the stage with Steven Tyler’s drummer and a few band members.
For more than 35 years, siblings Kathleen Fee, John Vesey and Ken Vesey have performed together as Celtic Cross, carrying the Irish music and traditions they inherited from their immigrant parents into a sound shaped by growing up in New York.
Montauk has become an important part of the Celtic Cross story over the years, making the East End a natural place to share this next chapter for the band.
Their new EP, Meet Me in the Kitchen, released October 9, is rooted in family, heritage, home, and the traditions that stay with us wherever life takes us. The title points back to the family kitchen that served as the heart of their upbringing, where stories were shared, music was played, and the culture their parents brought from County Mayo and County Longford was passed down to the next generation.
More than three decades later, Kathleen, John and Ken are still making music together and carrying those traditions forward while putting their own distinctly New York stamp on their Irish-American roots. Celtic Cross brings both heart and grit to every performance — a fusion that has earned them loyal audiences from New York to Ireland and beyond.