West of Eden

West of Eden is a folk rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden.

The band was formed in 1995 by spouses Jenny and Martin Schaub after they returned from a trip to Dublin, where they fell in love with Celtic folk music. They are the lead vocalists and main songwriters. Martin also plays multiple instruments, produces the albums and arranges and conducts string and brass sections. The band has released thirteen studio albums and a live Christmas album to date. Their repertoire consists mainly of original songs with influences from Irish and Scottish folk music. The sound is characterised by mostly acoustic instruments like violin, accordion and whistle. After initially being more oriented towards pop, they now fall under the genre of folk rock. In addition to Sweden, they have toured England, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and China.

All lyrics are in English, with the exception of the songs on the 2021 album Taube, which is Swedish. The album contains interpretations of songs written by Evert Taube (1890 – 1976), whom is a legend in Sweden and also hails from Gothenburg.

Throughout the years, many "Guests of Eden" have appeared on the albums. Notable names are (alphabetically) Ron Block, Duncan Chisholm, Steph Geremia, Jarlath Henderson, Filip Jers, Christian Kjellvander, John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Damien O'Kane, Kate Rusby, Heidi Talbot, but also former or future band members David Ekh, Øyvind Eriksen and Pär Öjerot appeared as a guest. In 2018, the band covered Timo Räisänens Eld & Aceton, translated into English by Jenny Schaub as Hope, Faith, Theft and performed the song with him in 2019.

Each year West of Eden perform Christmas concerts called Celtic Christmas. Sometimes other artists join the band, like Duncan Chisholm, Triona Marshall (touring member of The Chieftains) or Heidi Talbot.

On November 18, 2025, the band announced the recording of their 15th album was finished. On April 24, Lighthousekeeping was released. It features Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker.