Author: Breffni Banks

Born out of the pandemic, The St Buryan Sessions is the sixth solo album by award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid, and is her most powerful and emotive offering yet.

The album had its genesis in the spring of 2020, when Sarah’s gigs and tours were cancelled due to COVID-19. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, she was able to finance a live solo recording (sans audience) in the lovely medieval church of St Buryan, not far from her home in rural West Cornwall.

Sensitively captured by her long-time sound engineer and manager, Martin Stansbury, with the aid of ambient microphones placed throughout the church, the sound of Sarah’s voice and music soars through the stunning acoustic space as she moves between acoustic guitar, piano, electric guitar and floor tom drum, performing songs that span her 24-year career – from “Charlie’s Gone Home”, originally recorded on her 1997 debut album When Two Lovers Meet, to electric guitar based pieces from her most recent studio album If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous — plus a pair of previously unrecorded covers.

The album opens, as do many of her live shows, with the a cappella “Sweetness and Pain”, an ode to the weakness of personal will when confronted by tempting albeit hurtful circumstance, which sets the tone for the album as Sarah’s voice reverberates around the empty sanctuary. In a rare concession to the solo format, the rocky “If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous” features the live looping by Martin that many fans are familiar with from her concerts over the years. On “The Silence Above Us”, a hauntingly appropriate metaphor for these times of doubt and fear, Sarah makes use of the beautiful grand piano that resides in the church, while her vintage floor tom drum comes into play on “One Sparrow Down”, a percussive, upbeat homily on the folly of attacking an imagined enemy.

She also tackles some new (for her) material: the classic jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”, on which she demonstrates the full dynamic range of her lush, distinctive voice, and a cover of “Rabbit Hills”, written by her dear friend (and past producer), the late Michael Chapman. This second piece was commissioned by Michael’s wife as a gift for his 80th birthday and sees Sarah once again at the piano, her compelling, heartfelt delivery revealing her immersion in the rich imagery of Chapman’s evocative lyrics.

Conceived as a concert set and including such fan favourites as “In Derby Cathedral”, “The Sun Goes On Rising” and “Yellowstone”, the album is a journey not only through a wide range of instrumentation and styles, but also through the spectrum of emotions that Sarah evokes in her performance and invokes in the listener. This is never more evident than on the album closer “Last Song”, a poignant tribute to her late mother that expresses deep sadness mingled with joy in the way the spirits of our loved ones travel with us – and proves the depths of feeling to which a songwriter can move an audience.

The recording was filmed by Cornish filmmaker and director Mawgan Lewis of Purple Knif with the aid of Eden Sessions veteran camera operator John Crooks, and the album release will be accompanied by a full concert video. In the meantime, Sarah has been releasing a series of videos of individual songs to her YouTube channel, where Lewis’ short documentary “The Making Of The St Buryan Sessions”, featuring interviews and song snippets, can also be viewed.

The St Buryan Sessions will be released Friday, October 15 on CD and limited-edition double LP.

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This Friday, October 1st, 2021, Joe Chester releases Carolan/Cage a special double A-side single in aid of the Peter McVerry Trust.

The single will be a bandcamp exclusive and comprises two instrumental tracks. Firstly Joe’s adaptation for guitar of “Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór”, the masterpiece by one of Ireland’s greatest composers, Turlough O’Carolan (1670 -1738.) This is followed by Dream, composed in 1948 by one of America’s greatest 20th century composers, John Cage.

“Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór,” was probably the very first composition of the great blind harper Turlough O’Carolan (1670 -1738), composed at the house of his first patron, Squire George Reynolds of Lough Scur at Letterfain, Co. Leitrim. Sí Bheag and Sí Mhór were two ranges of hills near Lough Scur, which were the scene of a great battle, in which Finn McCool and his Fianna were defeated.

Dream was composed by John Cage in 1948. “This work was originally used as music for the eponymous choreographed piece by Merce Cunningham, following the rhythmic structure of the dance and using a fixed gamut of tones. Throughout, resonances are sustained. The music is essentially a single melodic line, except for the last few bars.” – johncage.org

This version is from a transcription for guitar by the fantastic Italian guitarist, Giulia Ballaré.

This single will be available at joechester.bandcamp.com and all proceeds will go to the Peter McVerry Trust, a homelessness charity based in Dublin.

Joe Chester’s albums have been written about in the books 101 Irish Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, by Tony Clayton-Lea and Buried Treasure by Dan Hegarty and featured recently in The Sunday Times list of the best Irish albums of all time – “Chester’s debut solo album is a perfect pop record. The songs are at once effortless, memorable, hook-laden and a masterclass in subtle dynamics.”

His fifth album, The Easter Vigil , meanwhile, was named 2017 Irish Album of the Year by The Sun who described it as, “A tonic for these times, a triumph of substance over style .” Jupiter’s Wife, his sixth studio album was voted Best Irish Album of 2020 by the Irish Daily Mirror.

He has been nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, the Meteor Irish Music Awards for Best Male Artist and for Best Album in the RTE Folk Awards (with The Hedge Schools.)

His latest album, Jupiter’s Wife , a double album, partly recorded at the legendary Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee, was named “One of the greatest Irish albums of the decade,” by the Irish Daily Mirror. A producer of over 60 albums for other artists, including multi-platinum and Number 1 albums and singles both in Ireland and overseas, he was until recently one half of the critically acclaimed Hedge Schools, has been lead guitarist of The Waterboys , toured extensively with Gemma Hayes, accompanied Sinead O’Connor and performed for Irish president Michael D. Higgins. He is guitarist and producer of Dublin group A Lazarus Soul whose 2019 album, “The D They Put Between The R & L” was voted album of the year (and indeed the decade) by numerous end of year polls. Hotpress Magazine have described Joe Chester as “A legitimate giant of Irish music.”

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Stereotype is a Dublin 5-piece that formed in December 2018.

The band is made up of Ray Gilligan (singer/songwriter), Anthony Healy (guitar), Gavin Healy (Bass), Darren Bolger (Keyboards), Tony Brereton (drums). The band CV reads an impressive list; Lord John White, Cherry Brogues, Daddy’s Little Princess, Sack, The Josephs, Razorlove, The Ground Will Shake…

The first gig was a sell-out show in Dublin’s Grand Social. This was followed by supports to Corduroy and Say Sue Me. More gigs in the Underground and the Maypole Festival were to follow with a view to showcasing new songs.

The band quickly gained a reputation as a skin-tight live outfit, with a set list full of singles.

Plans to intensify live shows in 2020 to finance the album before the end of the year were cut short due to Covid.

This gave the band time to reflect, concentrate on new material with some rewriting and arranging to bring Stereotype to the point where the band now has a collection of songs in that classic guitar-driven Pop tradition, that it is completely confident in releasing as an album, with that Stereotype sound.

The debut single ‘Boy in the Streets’ is available to stream/download from 8th October 2021, and an album to follow early 2022, with possibly another single release on vinyl in between.

Irish music legends The Pale release a brand-new recording of their 1992 classic hit single ‘Butterfly (2021)’ which is set for release on Friday October 15th.

This is the second single to be taken from the band’s upcoming 13 track best of compilation album entitled ‘Paleanthology’ The album will be released on CD and on all Digital platforms on Friday October 22nd and will soon be followed by a Limited-edition coloured Vinyl pressing. 

‘Butterfly (2021)’ was recorded and mixed by Ber Quinn (John Grant, The Divine Comedy, The Villagers) at Dublin’s Sonic Studios, and was especially recorded for their new career retrospective.

Originally released in 1992, ‘Butterfly’ reached number 16 in the Irish charts and has become the Pale’s most renowned song and a huge favourite at their legendary live shows.

“Ireland in the 80’s felt like a country that would soon be completely emptied of all its young people. Like butterflies in full bloom leaving the chrysalis and migrating to more bountiful climes. A generation that discontinued the trades of its parents and built their lives independently from the ground up. ‘Butterfly’ is a celebration and recognition of that entrepreneurial spirit” – Matthew Devereux

The Pale will be back on the road to promote the release of ‘Paleanthology’ with the band joining fellow Indie giants Sack for a special one-off show at Opium, Dublin on Saturday, October 9th before headlining shows at Whelans on Thursday, November 25th and Kavanaghs in Portlaoise on Friday, November 26th. And finally finishing out the year in Mullingar’s legendary venue The Stables on Saturday, December 4th.

‘Butterfly (2021)’ will be available to download on the Pale’s Bandcamp page at thepale.bandcamp.com, and available to stream on all digital platforms from October 15th.

‘Paleanthology’ will be available on CD, Digital Download and on all streaming platforms from October 22nd, with the Coloured vinyl edition to follow soon after.

The Pale formed on Dublin’s Northside in 1990 but drew their influences from far beyond. At the time the band were part of the burgeoning busking scene on Dublin’s Grafton street, before advancing to performing across Irelands many music venues and attracting the attention of a large quantity of record labels all extremely eager to sign them. 

They released their debut album ‘Here’s One We Made Earlier’ in 1992 which featured the hits ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Dogs With No Tails’ followed by tours way off the beaten path in Russia, Japan, Eastern Europe as well as time spent touring with an alternative circus, constantly perfecting their energetic live show that the band has become well known for. While they continued to release a string of albums that effortlessly skip between style and genres, all the while retaining a strong lyrical focus.

2019 saw them release the critically acclaimed album ‘Merciful Hour’, Followed by shows across Ireland to promote their new album, as well as numerous festival appearances including closing out the Friday night of Feile 19 in Tipperary. while November 2019 saw their hit single ‘Dogs With No Tails’ being featured in Season 2 of the BBC hit series ‘The Young Offenders’.

While recently the band celebrated 30 years in the music industry and returned to the UK for the first time in many years for a short tour, and plan on returning to the UK and Europe in 2022.

Tour dates:

Saturday, October 9th – Opium, Dublin (With Sack)

Thursday, November 25th – Whelans, Dublin

Friday, November 26th – Kavanaghs, Portlaoise

Saturday, December 4th – The Stables, Smiddy’s Bar, Mullingar

Scattered Ashes come straight out of the Dublin post punk underground that birthed Murder Capital and Fontaines DC. The abrasive four-piece burst on to the scene November 2020 with their debut single ‘Love Is Not An Option’ receiving immediate support and airplay from Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 6) and KEXP over in the States.

The ‘Parallel Lines EP’ followed on blood red vinyl, a sombre meditation on the finite, a brooding paean to faith, doubt and reason. The band are now set to go on the road in support of their new single ‘Slow Motion’.

Frontman Rob Dalton explains that “Slow Motion’ deals with the helpless surrender of a deteriorating relationship, watching the person you love change before your own eyes but feeling powerless to stop it, in doing so you become a prisoner of time, waiting for the final nail in the coffin to declare your commitment null and void.”

“You asked me a question, you didn’t want the answer to, so why the suggestion, that maybe one is better than two…”

Releasing October 1st, the song marks a huge creative milestone for the band, invoking a dire sense of pathos whilst exemplifying the refined palette of influences they have as a group. Dalton elaborates that “We’re striving to create something greater than ourselves; our art is our absolution.”

The band recorded the single in April 2021 with Fontaines producer Daniel Doherty, as part of an EP they plan to release in early 2022 which will be supported by shows in Dublin, Galway, London, Manchester & Leeds.  The sleek video for the single is due to be premiered by several UK Music Magazines and the band are about to announce a huge show supporting Eastern European gloom purveyors Molchat Doma this November. Scattered Ashes are about to embark on a relentless campaign for their next two singles and seemed destined to be a critics favourite for 2022.

Slow Motion was recorded at Darklands, in Dublin with Dan Doherty (Fontaines D.C.), mastered by Pete Maher (U2, Echo and The Bunnymen).

Live dates:

Sunday October 3rd – The Lighthouse, Dun Laoghaire w/ Turnstiles (SOLD OUT)

Thursday October 7th – The Roisin Dubh, Galway w/ Sprints

Sunday October 10th – YES, Manchester w/ Thumper

Wednesday November 24th – Whelan’s, Dublin w/ Molchat Doma

Thursday December 16th – Thomas House, Dublin

To connect with Scattered Ashes:

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Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan are set to unite once again for a unique show bringing together their collective talents.

An Evening With Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan is a night not to be missed with tickets on sale from Ticketmaster and local venue box offices.

Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan will each perform a set with their own musicians featuring many of their greatest hits. All three ladies will then join together on stage to finish the night with a truly magical finale.

The three performers are some of the most successful female artists Ireland has to offer and are no stranger to performing together having been involved in the successful Woman’s Heart albums and tours.  Womans Heart is celebrating its 30^th Anniversary in 2022.

The 3 performers appeared together on the Late Late show May 2020 where viewers donated 1.6 million euros for Pieta House.

Sharon Shannon said “I really love doing the shows with Mary and Frances.  The three of us have a strong bond of deep friendship and music and craic for over 30 years.  I’m hugely honoured to share the stage with these two iconic legends of Irish music.”

Frances Black said ”I can’t believe its 30 years since the ‘Woman’s Heart’ album was released, it only feels like yesterday.  It was a great honour for me to be part of that album and it definitely played a huge role on my life’s journey and I am very grateful for that.”

Mary Coughlan said “It has been my pleasure to share the stage over the years with Frances Black and Sharon Shannon and some wonderful musicians! I think our sense of craic and camaraderie is evident to everyone, especially when we perform some of our best known songs together at the end!”

Tickets for An Evening With Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Mary Coughlan are on sale from Friday 17th September at 9am from Ticketmaster and theatre box offices

Show Dates:

Jan 1^st INEC Killarney

Jan 7^th National  Opera House Wexford

Jan 8^th Hotel Kilkenny

Jan 15^th Glor Ennis

Jan 21^st Sligo Park Hotel

Jan 22^nd Radission Blu Athlone

Jan 28^th Ulster Hall Belfast

Jan 29^th Hillgrove Hotel & Spa Monaghon

Feb 25^th Tullamore Court

Feb 26^th The Social Gweedore

March  4^th TLT Drogheda

March 5^th Glenroyal Hotel Maynooth

March 6^th Helix Dublin

March 11^th Shearwater Hotel Ballinsloe

March 24^th Cork Opera House

March 25^th Theatre Royal Castlebar

April 1^st UCH Limerick

April 2^nd Landmark Hotel Carrick on Shannon

Meath folk sister duo Water’s Edge are releasing their fantastic debut single ‘Call It Fate’ everywhere September 24th.

Twin sisters Katie and Aoife Lynch from Duleek in County Meath have both been singing since they could talk but it was only in 2013 when at the encouragement of family, friends and teachers, they began to sing and perform together as a musical duet.

In 2017 they began busking in Dublin city and quickly built up a very strong, supportive following. On the strength of this support they released an EP entitled ‘Follow our Dream’ on CD which included 2 original tracks as well as some of their busking favourites. A love of songwriting was born!

2019 was an incredible year as they auditioned and qualified for the Voice UK 2020 and were successful in getting through the blind auditions and onto mentor Meghan Treanor’s team for the battle stage. This was a huge learning experience and a great introduction to the business of music, while allowing them the opportunity to meet with many amazing professional people within both the music industry and the world of television, radio and media.

Already seasoned live performers having performed at Sports Against Racism, the Busker Fleadh and Whelan’s in Dublin to name a few. The girls have tried to keep busy, despite Covid, writing and recording more original material and have released a single called ‘At Night’ under the moniker of Katie and Aoife but are now very excited to grow into their name and release their first single as Water’s Edge.

https://www.instagram.com/watersedge_official/

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The National Concert Hall’s REFRACTIONS series continues with two very special events this October.

On Tuesday 12^th October acclaimed fiddler Martin Hayes joins Donal Dineen for a night of absorbing conversation to mark the publication of his memoir Shared Notes (Penguin). 

Later in the month on Thursday 28^th October one of Ireland’s best-loved singer-songwriters, Glen Hansard returns to the Dublin stage for the first time since the pandemic to make his NCH headline show debut. This concert will also be livestreamed globally. 

Robert Read, CEO of the National Concert Hall said: “We are very excited to announce these two exceptional additions to our autumn series. Martin Hayes and Glen Hansard are without a doubt two of the finest Irish artists working today. Martin Hayes, whether solo, with Dennis Cahill, The Gloaming or in another of his many guises is an outstanding exemplar of the Irish traditional form. As someone at the vanguard of the genre from an early age his memoir is the story of an important era in its evolution. Glen Hansard is an exceptional talent whose extraordinary song-writing has resonated deeply not only with Irish fans but also a huge international audience, he is the voice of a generation. We are delighted to welcome Glen for his debut National Concert Hall headline show, which marks his return to the Dublin stage.”  

Martin Hayes is one of the key figures in Irish traditional music. He began playing the fiddle at the age of seven in his native East Clare and went on to become a multiple All Ireland Fiddle Champion as a teenager. He went on to form a successful duo with Chicago guitarist in the late 80s and also enjoyed solo success. In 2011 he founded Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming who have released three successful studio albums and Live at the NCH. His life is the story of Irish traditional music from the 1960’s to the current day: how it works, why it matters and how it continues to connect generations of the past to those of the future. 

Glen Hansard is one of our great live performers, the power of his shows has been compared to a spiritual experience, both joyous and unifying. Hansard rose to fame as frontman of legendary Irish act The Frames, who last year celebrated their 30^th birthday. He was one half of folk duo The Swell Season, along with Czech pianist and vocalist Markéta Irglová. Together, they share an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly,” from the film Once, in which they both starred. More recently he has released four solo albums, including the Grammy-nominated Didn’t He Ramble (2015), as well as a number of EPs and a live record. Glen is currently working on material for his next solo record. 

All tickets on sale Friday 24^th September at 10am.     

All tickets available from www.nch.ie   

Martin Hayes Tickets: In Person €15 / Ticket and Book Bundle €30 

Glen Hansard Tickets: in Person €35 / Global Livestream €17.50. Livestream will be available for 48 hours. 

This concert is supported by  the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. 

Derry band Amberlight have just re-released and remixed their debut single ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ with a brand new Bond-inspired music video just in time for the latest cinematic outing from the worlds favourite spy.

Amberlight are Derry-duo Lauren Doherty (vocals) and Paul Casey (guitars/producer).

Amberlight’s debut album will be released early 2022.