Doug Closson has been performing music in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1981 where he appeared regularly with Lily Salisbury and current band leader Skip Henderson at a number of small venues, the most enjoyable being The Wine Cellar in Ghiradelli Square. Doug began writing music in Key West Florida in 1975 and has never really recovered from living and sailing in the Florida Keys. His nautical bent in music and friends continues to undermine his potential as a singer-song writer (for which he will always be grateful).
Doug writes and performs a variety of songs which range from the humorous to foot tappers, romantic ballads & salty sea chanteys.
In spite of repeated warnings, the band West of Shannon now counts Doug among it's members and it has been great fun. West of Shannon has a serious bent for Celtic music but has been known to branch out into upbeat Americana and the occasional Sea Chantey which makes for a swell time (swell time, get it :-) ).
In performances with Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch in the San Francisco Bay Area, the band performs in an open, participatory, sing-a-long atmosphere. In addition to the lengthy song list performed by the band (a knowledgeable bunch indeed), Doug performs personal favorites such as "The Mary Ellen Carter", "Barrett's Privateers" and a respectful but smelt-ridden sing-along version of Stan Rogers "Catch Tiny Fish for Japan" as well as his own imaginative sailing tale "Rock in Me Boot".