Month: October 2018

‘Rise’ is the debut single from Dundalk’s indie songstress, Alice Robinson. It is filled with eloquent melancholic lyrical undertones which explore themes relating to inequality in modern society.  Bringing to mind the beguiling musicality of the likes of Tori Amos or PJ Harvey, ‘Rise’ is an epic, and truly immersive, debut from the Irish songwriter.

Alice Robinson is a Louth based alternative singer-songwriter that creates  musical and lyrical vocabularies that are unique and deserve our critical attention. Having already charmed crowds at a number of Irish festivals including Carrickmacross Arts Festival and Gothic Species Festival,  Alice Robinson is now ready to share her spellbinding debut single.  

Upcoming Shows

Jimmy’s Bar, Dundalk| October 19
Fibber Magees, Dublin | November 29

Alice Online:
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Singer/songwriters Karen Cross & Rob Martin have won the Tipperary International Song of Peace with their song titled ‘Oceans of Peace’. In front of a packed house in the Tipperary Excel Centre on Saturday night (October 6th), the duo picked up 28 marks from a possible 30 to make them clear winners of the Contest for 2018. As overall winners they received a cheque for €1,500 and the Tipperary Song of Peace Crystal Award.

Karen is a singer songwriter from Galway and Rob is a singer songwriter from Dublin. They are regular performers at open mic nights in Waterford. They met at a songwriters workshop in Tramore in May 2018 where they collaborated on their song ‘Oceans of Peace’. The winning song got its first outing after the event when it was performed by the duo at the 11am Mass in St. Michael’s Church Tipperary on Sunday morning.

The joint runners-up in the Contest were Liverpudlian Joe Topping with his song ‘More Love’ and the Welsh brother and sister Daniel & Bianca Taylor with their song titled ‘Stick Together’.
The best Irish entry award of the Mick Tuohy Perpetual Cup went to a young Tipperary duo, Sophie Bartlett & Ciarán Coffey with their entry ‘Doesn’t Have To Be A Dream’.

For the first time ever there was a School Peace Choir section and to great excitement the Monastery Senior Boy’s primary school from Tipperary Town were declared the winners. There were 6 schools in the contest from across Tipperary along with a school from Kildare. The winning choir received the Danny Ryan Perpetual Cup, presented by the Ryan Family in memory of Danny who was a gifted musician and music teacher. The Ryan Family also made individual presentations to the 5 other schools.

This was the first time that the Monastery boys performed in a choral event and the choir was formed in recent weeks by teachers Ms. Sinead Ní Choiligh (Choirmistress) and Ms. Mary Long, especially for the Peace event. There were 45 boys in the choir. The songs they performed were; ‘The Peace Song’ and ‘I’d like to teach the world to Sing’ and they were accompanied on keyboards by Ms. Helen Culbert.

Speaking after the event the Hon. Secretary of Tipperary Peace Convention, Martin Quinn, said that it was a hugely successful event. “The addition of the school choirs added a whole new dimension to the Contest and it was wonderful to see their excitement in being part of this event. I want to thanks the schools that participated and who travelled long journeys for the event and my special thanks to the songwriters in the Song of Peace Final who came at their own expense from Ireland, England, Wales, USA and Australia”.

The winning school choir from the Monastery will now be invited to perform at the presentation of the Tipperary International Peace Award to the recently retired President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, when he visits Tipperary in November.

There are few better than Dublin’s C.C. Cooper at conveying a sense of pathos and heartbreak as a performer, having shared the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville with the likes of George Hamilton IV and Georgette Jones (Tammy Wynette’s daughter), not to mention releasing a raft of top quality country records, touring extensively solo, brushing shoulders with the likes of Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson and Colin Rae while VIP’ing at the CMA awards in Nashville, and touring with renowned female trio, the Honky Tonk Angels (with Bernie Heaney and Lorraine McDonald).

Now teaming up with prolific and celebrated Irish songwriter Sean Silke, and production team Beardfire Music, C.C. is back with a brand new single, ‘He Wants Me Back’!

A classic country/pop tearjerker with a great back story, ‘He Wants Me Back’ tells the true tale of an American lady who has been married for 25 years. Her husband goes through a mid-life crisis (no other woman involved) and looks for a divorce. It’s two years later, the divorce is in place, the house is sold, and he wants her back! The song describes the emotional trauma and intense heartbreak of the dilemma which the divorced woman now faces. It is not a story with a happy ending; it is about the agony before whatever resolution may or may not occur.

Between them, Rohan Healy, David Virgin and Al Quiff of Beardfire studio – the production team behind ‘He Wants Me Back’ – have shared the stage with or produced the likes of Nick Cave, INXS, Gretchen Peters, Mary Black, Cat Power, Sherbet, Jim Lauderdale, John Cooper Clarke, Lloyd Cole, Leslie Dowdall (In Tua Nua), Mundy, Billy Bragg, Mark Olson (The Jayhawks) and more.

Brothers Rohan and Al (Quiff) Healy played to a television audience of 7 million on The Voice UK Season 5, performed for President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin and had countless adventures over their more than 1,000 shows with The Dublin City Rounders. Their father, David Virgin, renowned songwriter and producer of 5 No1’s in the Australian charts with Sekret Sekret, was also the visionary behind the sound of early industrial noise group SPK, a cited influence on the likes of Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers.

‘He Wants Me Back’ is out now and is available on all major streaming and download platforms. The official music video is to be released in the coming weeks.

With the release of singles ‘Desire’ and ‘This City’s at War’ DEEP SKY OBJECTS showcased their proficiency at referencing the wide spectrum of rock music and combining this with hookworm melodies crafted something thoroughly modern and contagious. Pulling another rock rabbit out of their hat the newest single ‘It’s Your Ghost’ is a seductive piece of progressive rock about lost connections. In reminiscing lead vocalist Kevin O‘Brien intones “‘Talk to me like you used to/Talk to me like you want to’. Sometimes we look to the past to reconnect, when all we want to do is reconnect with you in the present.” ‘It’s Your Ghost’ is out November 2.

Over the past year Cork band DEEP SKY OBJECTS have become one of the most exciting rock bands to emerge in Ireland. Cleaving together grooves and melodies from classic and 90’s rock combined with an enthralling live show the trio have become ones to watch.

With ‘It’s Your Ghost’ Deep Sky Objects wanted to introduce a more melody focused single finding a middle ground between The National and Royal Blood with inflections of The Cure. Let yourself be seduced and get ready for a band renowned for their big riffs and dirty bass lines that have kicked things up a gear and are getting ready to show you exactly what they are made of in 2019.

Deep Sky Objects are a three-piece alternative-rock band. The band members include brothers Kevin O’Brien (lead vocals, guitar), Thomas O’Brien (drums and backing vocals) and DD Foley (bass guitar and backing vocals).

Tour Dates
The Grand Social, Dublin – October 3
Kelly’s Bar, Cavan – October 5
The Underground, Dublin – October 26
Sean Og’s, Donegal – October 27
Foxford, Mayo – October 28
Coughlans, Cork – November 9 (Double headliner w/ Orchid Collective)
INEC Killarney, Kerry – November 10

Following a busy few months of collaborations, Paul Noonan releases a new song on his own, ‘Moth to Your Flame’. It is produced by the Gloaming’s Thomas Bartlett and will be available digitally on 5^th October.

Paul says of the song –

“’Moth to Your Flame’ was made by myself and Thomas Bartlett of New York City, like Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road, trading musical parts over the Atlantic on t’internet.  It was the first tune finished of an ongoing collaboration, and I’m delighted to finally show it off…”

Earlier this year the Side 4 Collective released ‘The Flood’, a song penned by Paul and more recently he teamed up with Daithi on the atmospheric ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’.  One of Ireland’s most respected songwriters, Paul has also released music under the Printer Clips handle as well as curating shows such as Starboard Home at the NCH.

Paul will be playing some solo shows in October…

Live

19^th October – Galway Spiegeltent Sessions
20^th October – Wexford Spiegeltent Festival

On Saturday, 20th October, Ollie Murphy Presents, in association with IMRO and GoldenPlec.com, will showcase a stellar line-up of musicians at the home of new music in Dublin, Whelan’s of Wexford Street.

Munky, Third Smoke, Bodies and Skywriter will all play at the first showcase to be staged by Ollie Murphy, the HamsandwicH drummer whose love of live music and has seen him assume a management and mentoring role to rising bands in recent years.

Ollie says: “It’s great to have the opportunity to showcase these talented musicians in the that venue I cut my own musical teeth in. Having IMRO and Golden Plec on board this initiative is brilliant; spreading the word to a wider audience is why I established Ollie Murphy Presents. Ireland has a wealth of amazing bands and that’s what the night is all about.”

Tickets are priced at €10 and are available from www.wavtickets.ie and on the door, subject to availability.

MUNKY

MUNKY are an alternative rock band mixing disco grooves with grungy psych guitars. Their music is funky and furious, drawing influences from 70s disco and funk, 90s alt-rock and modern day psychedelia to produce their distinct sound. Their live shows have created a word of mouth buzz for their energy and quality.

In less than a year they have played Whelan’s Ones To Watch twice, opened for Le Galaxie, The Hot Sprockets and Raglans, been picked by Hot Press as one of the must see BIMM acts, played in Aviva Stadium and at festivals including Longitude festival, YS festival & Electric Picnic. Their first headline show sold out the main room of Whelan’s and garnered high praise in reviews.

THIRD SMOKE

Third Smoke are an Irish indie rock band that build performances around a mixture of raucous gang vocals, dynamic harmonies and the chaotic swapping of instruments by five seamlessly synchronised multi-instrumentalists.

Musical influences range from the likes of the Dandy Warhols, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, Glass Animals and Fleet Foxes and through years of dedicated writing, exploration, format changing and continuous touring they have established a live show that channels a blend of anthemic melody driven indie rock together with powerful vocal interplay above a wall of crafted sound.

BODIES

Originally the solo project of multi-instrumentalist David Anthony McGeown, BODIES now play as a four-piece live band with the addition of Nathan Maher (guitar), Danilo Ward (bass) and Scott Johnson (drums). The band has been busy all summer earning a name for themselves as a raucous live band with energetic performances at the likes of Castlepalooza, Electric Picnic and Groove Festival. BODIES were also one of the undisputed highlights of the Whelan’s Ones to Watch summer showcase festival in 2018. At this gig, having broken his wrist two days previously, David managed the first two songs with his hospital wrist brace, but was feeling restricted as the audience swelled. Never one to compromise, David ripped off the brace halfway through the gig so that he could play unrestrained – albeit with a broken wrist. This ‘all or nothing’ approach is typical of the Dubliner who has cultivated a signature sound that draws influence from the likes of Radiohead, Muse, Manchester Orchestra & Sigur Ros.

Having released an EP, ‘Soak’, in November 2017 to critical acclaim, BODIES upcoming debut album ‘Drench’ is one of the most anticipated studio albums from an Irish artist this year. It features collaborations with members of some of Ireland’s most prominent bands such as Squarehead, Kid Karate, Blooms, Kodaline and Overhead the Albatross.

SKYWRITER

Hailing from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Amy Quirke started out as a drummer in a local band. Gigging at every opportunity across the length and breadth of Ireland, not only cemented her reputation as a multi-instrumentalist but also sowed the seeds for her own solo material.

Taking leave of the stage to focus on writing, Amy moved to London and then Melbourne, Australia. Combining the energy of both cities with her own real life experiences, she has developed her own brand of honest song writing both on solo and collaborative levels, and after a stint in Los Angeles, California, Skywriter was born.

Taking a from working with Shane MacGowan amongst others, Cronin brothers Mick and Johnny welcomed Skywriter to Live Transmission Studios to record her self titled debut EP. Amy collaborated with some of the midland’s finest musicians including Dec Murphy of The Blizzards on drums.

Facebook Event Page: https://bit.ly/2yblT6x

Dave Flynn’s Irish Memory Orchestra is the only orchestra in the western world to perform exclusively by memory. Ireland’s living music tradition soars into the 21st Century with this outstanding ensemble mixing Celtic horns, strings, winds, pipes, reeds and a swinging rhythm section. Máirtín O’Connor’s dazzling accordion playing is the icing on the cake of the tour.

Repertoire includes Inside the Box: Outside the Box, a suite of Máirtín O’Connor tunes orchestrated by Flynn and orchestral songs by Flynn and lyricist Pádraic Ó Beirn sung by Corkonians Róisín Donohoe and Niamh Varian-Barry. Flynn’s much-loved Clare Concerto brings audiences on an exciting and moving journey around the landmarks and musicians of Clare.

The outstanding 20 piece ensemble features some of the best musicians in the business including conductor Bjorn Bantock, harpist Anne-Marie O’Farrell, piper Mark Redmond, flautist Aisling Agnew, guitarist Niwel Tsumbu and Ensemble Ériu founders Jack Talty and Neil O’Loghlen. Together they bring audiences to their feet from London to Moscow, Clare to Korea.

Speaking about the tour, IMO founder Dave Flynn said;

“I’m really looking forward to bringing the 20 piece IMO to Cork City for the first time and returning to our spiritual home of Clare. I last played Cork Folk Festival in 2012 as part of The Tune Makers with Máirtin O’Connor & Liz Carroll. On that tour Máirtín joined the orchestra for our inaugural concert in glór. It’ll be a joy to perform Máirtín’s music with him again. We end our tour with a more intimate show in Kilkenny’s Watergate Theatre where Máirtín and I will be joined by Niamh Varian-Barry, Róisín Donohoe, Aisling Agnew and Aidan Dunphy for a great evening of music, song and Máirtín’s inimitable storytelling!”

FRI 5 OCTOBER Glór
Ennis, Ireland

SAT 6 OCTOBER Cork Folk Festival
Cork, Ireland

SUN 7 OCTOBER Watergate Theatre
Kilkenny, Ireland

One of Ireland’s favourite sons, Finbar Furey will be celebrated in New York on Thurs 4^thOctober 2018 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gaelic Players Association. Finbar has reached iconic status over the last fifty years as a multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and actor.

Finbar’s achievements are numerous – he has worked with Martin Scorsese, was lauded by John Peel, featured on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, performed with The Clancy Brothers and many other luminaries, and has always been at the forefront of musical change.

On being chosen for the award Finbar said: ‘I’m honoured, delighted and taken by surprise to be given this Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s a very special feeling to be recognised like this. I’m (nearly) speechless’.

The Gaelic Players Association has chosen Finbar as the first recipient of this most illustrious award to acknowledge his contribution to the music industry, both national and international. Mr Gary McGann will also be honoured, and will be presented with The Gaelic Heritage Award.

The GPA US Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have provided outstanding service in their chosen field. It acknowledges the deep historical and cultural ties between Ireland and the US and recognizes a shared ancestry of which Ireland’s unique Gaelic sporting and musical heritage are an intrinsic part.

‘The Gaelic Players Association is honoured to present Finbar Furey with the GPA US Lifetime Achievement Award for 2018. Finbar Furey is not only a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, storyteller and actor but he is one of Ireland’s most famous and talented sons. Finbar’s influence on Irish music at home and abroad is recognised widely. A man of immense creative talent and passionate gaelic games supporter, his soulful music represents values cherished by players such as courage, honesty, diversity and compassion’. 

Finbar completed live dates in UK and Ireland to support his self penned album and live DVD ‘Don’t Stop This Now’ which was acclaimed on its release by BMG UK in March 2018.

Here is a rare performance from Finbar with his daughter Aine Furey singing ‘The Taxi’s Waiting’  from DVD ‘Don’t Stop This Now’  https://youtu.be/67_-VUTUuVs

Having toured extensively in support of the album in spring 2018, Finbar returns to London Thursday 15^th November for one night at Islington’s Union Chapel before a special Christmas show at St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny on Saturday 16^th December.