At one point during fresh Irish folk trio Amble‘s show at Boston’s Royale on Sept. 5, mandolin-plus player Ross McNerney told the sell-out crowd that he’s been in Boston more than home in Ireland this year. While an exaggeration for sure, this did mark Amble’s fourth appearance in Boston since the end of May, and that included opening for Hozier twice at Fenway Park over the summer.

Amble has been topping the charts in Ireland, but it has certainly found a second home in Boston, and the band is getting more and more comfortable here as it goes along. Lead singer Robbie Cunningham could be seen pointing to familiar faces in the crowd, and mention was made of one band member’s family hopping the pond to attend.

I first saw Amble outdoors at Boston Calling in May, where lead vocalist Robbie Cunningham, guitarist Oisín McCaffrey, and McNerney played a stripped down mid-afternoon set on the outlier blue stage without a backing band. The crowd was receptive, but most flocked to the festival no doubt to see headliners like Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne.

This time around, at what they referred to as their largest headlining show—Royale’s capacity exceeds 1,000 people—everyone was there to see Amble (I earned myself a Guinness after I gifted an extra ticket to an Irish lad standing by named McGonigle, who said he was nearing the end of his work visa in the U.S.). As was the case at Amble’s Fenway show, the band had backing musicians who amped up the sound.

When I told a relative the next day I’d just seen an Irish band in Boston she asked: “The Pogues?” While the post- Shane MacGowan Pogues actually also were playing in Boston that weekend, no, Amble is not the Pogues… nor U2…nor any of the more rocking bands Ireland might bring to mind. Rather, Amble charms with mostly original tunes in traditional Irish style, rich lyrics and memorable stories, sweet harmonies, and yes, some sing-along parts— that started with the set’s second song, the reflective “Little White Chapel,” and the line “Why walk when we can run.”

Amble’s members, who share songwriting credits, lead with acoustic guitar. Though McNerney frequently wields a banjo, mandolin or bouzouki (a member of the mandolin family), and once he gets ripping, the crowd eagerly whoops.

That was the case with “Of Land and Sea” and “Tonnta,” two of the grabbier tracks from the band’s debut album, “Reverie,” released in May. His banjo really kicked in on “One Man’s Love” between choruses of  “I have fallen for another lady/I’ve been searching through the rubble lately/We’re no ordinary lovers, baby,” and McNerney’s frantic picking brought the song to its end, too.

While Cunningham led most songs with his powerful and sometimes spiritual tenor, the band emphasized the instruments at the start or end of certain numbers. This allowed Amble to change pace and share a wide expanse of moods, from forlorn to amorous.

On “Sam Hall,” a classic chimney sweep ballad, Cunningham, McCaffrey, and McNerney slowed things down under sparse white lights and barely strummed their instruments at times,; the backing musicians took that one off.

While many fans came to celebrate music of the old country, Amble also worked in some country music, as in “Jersey Giant” from Kentucky’s Tyler Childers.

Amble’s catalog is small given that the band has only been around for a few years. But the crowd got an early listen of music from an EP called “Hand Me Downs” slated for release later this month. Cracking the setlist were the title track, an ode to the power of passing down stories, plus another newcomer called “Like the Piper” in which Cunningham sings “I’m amazed by your distraction/But you’re not amazed by me.”

Despite the big crowd, the concert had an intimate feel. The focus was on the timeless music, but short stories and anecdotes were woven in between songs by the three lead performers. We learned that they ditched their day jobs about a year ago to go all in on Amble.

 

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The concert’s high point may have been mid-way through when Amble played nostalgic “Schoolyard Days” and “Mary’s Pub” back to back, with the opening chords of the former eliciting the loudest cheers of the night. “Mary’s Pub,” with its chorus of “And we watched time go by/Well I told her ask me anything/She asked me how to cry,” was sung full throttle by the crowd in sync with Cunningham.

Before the night was over, ahead of the encore, it seemed like a football (yes, that kind of football) game had broken out, with chants of “Olé, Olé, Olé” encouraging Amble back to the stage for two more songs before heading out.

More “Beyond Wellesley” music coverage:

• Levitate Music & Arts Festival: Celebrating local bands, newcomers & the sun
• Boston Calling Day 3: A return to its roots with indie favs & newcomers
• Boston Calling Day 2: Emo rules & Wellesley sightings
• Boston Calling 2025 Day 1: Cowboys & cowgirls get their fix, but it’s not all country all the time