Author: Breffni Banks

The organisers of Ireland’s first family-focused music and arts festival Kaleidoscope are proud to present ‘We Are Family’, a series of six intimate live shows set to take place on 13^th, 14^th & 15^th of August in the luscious green spacious surrounds of the historic Russborough House. As the back-to-school countdown begins, this family-friendly experience will be sure to silence any cries of ‘I’m bored!’ that may have echoed through the house over the long summer holidays (and any lockdowns that came before!).

Get the whole family singing along to headline acts:

Ryan McMullan | Lyra| JC Stewart

Dublin Gospel Choir | Cairde | African Gospel Choir

Lea Heart | Odhran Murphy | Bobbi Arlo

DJ sets from Rigsy | Tracy Clifford.

We Are Family will host a crowd of 500 for both a matinée and evening show each day, with gates opening at 12 noon and 4pm respectively. Embracing the outdoor summer We Are Family will capture the essence of those free-spirited festival vibes we all miss so much but at a smaller capacity which is in line with current government guidelines. Whether it’s enjoying theatrical pop-ups or main stage singalongs, there will be circular, distanced pods, marked out on the surrounding grass to help families self-manage and feel safe and secure.

The Main Stage will be at the heart of the action, where you will have plenty of room for dancing with your nearest and dearest in designated pods, while the Boompaloompa area will offer eats with beats as it plays host to an array of DJs, walkabout theatre, surprise pop-up performances and best-in-class festival food vans; get ready to tuck into delicious delights and festival flavours galore! Our Zero Bar will offer thirst quenching alcohol-free beer, delicious mocktails and minerals but if you’re looking to enjoy a few tipples why not BYOB?

In line with their family-friendly philosophy, providing entertainment for all ages is a priority for organisers of Kaleidoscope, so whether you are old enough to remember Woodstock or are a tot boogeying in a buggy, the We Are Family ticket is one that is not to be missed. In an ode to our golden-oldies and creating an opportunity to make up for lost time, the organisers are thrilled to announce that the first 100 grannies, grandads, and gran-guardians go free! (See Notes to Editors for more).

Tickets for shows are limited, so families who have bought or attended Kaleidoscope festival before will have first dibs on tickets. Pre-sale family tickets (two parents and two children) for We Are Family are available from www.ticketmaster.ie from Friday July 30th. General tickets will be available for purchase from Sunday August 1st (see www.kaleidoscopefestival.ie for details). Tickets cost €79.00 for a family of four and €20 for individuals, not including booking fee. Event pods will be designated to a maximum of six people. (Parking €3 per car on arrival).

Attention to detail and care has always been the mantra for Team Kaleidoscope and will be even more so now. The super clean site will have extra cleaning crews and waste management staff on-hand throughout the experience, along with extra toilets and other services to make sure that venue hygiene is at its most tippy-top. Event attendees will be required to socially distance as well as wearing masks when outside of their stationed event pod.

For those of you who want to treasure memories or can’t make it,  the weekend will be filmed and aired as a free virtual show so you can watch it back and relive those special moments on 11th September on the VStage platform through the www.kaleidoscopefestival.ie website. And don’t forget, tickets for Kaleidoscope 2022 are on sale now!

All adult attendees will be asked to provide proof of vaccination/high immunity/negative PCR or antigen test result. Alternatively you can avail of a free antigen test at the gates – see www.kaleidoscopefestival.ie/FAQs for more info.

This project has been part-funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sport and Media from the Live Performance Support Scheme.

My Own Cult are an Alt metal band from Cork featuring Tony Gorry on lead vocals and lead guitar, Mike Hoye on bass and backing vocals, Dave Fogarty on guitar and backing vocals and Patrick Donnelly on drums.

The band features members of Irish hard rock band MINDRIOTmt, Tony and Mike, who enlisted a second guitarist in the form of the gifted Dave Fogarty, formerly of Irish metal act Thoughts Of Ruin and drummer Patrick Donnelly.

‘Lose Control’, 30th July, is the 2nd release from the band My Own Cult which was self recorded and then mixed by Belfast producer Josh Sid Robinson at JSR Audio studios.

An EP expected to be released by the end of 2021.

Pa Sheehy has released his second solo single ‘Róisín’ today, alongside announcing the release of his debut EP ‘The Art Of Disappearing’ on 24 September and dates for his first solo tour.

‘The Art Of Disappearing’ EP is available to Pre-save/Pre-order via pasheehy.com and Golden Discs now. Fans who pre-order the physical EP will have access to the pre-sale for the live shows on 4th August at 10am.  Tickets will go on general on sale on 6th August 10am via Ticketmaster.ie and Pasheehy.com.

Speaking about his new single ’ Pa Sheehy said: “How many times can you let down the one you love before they say goodbye? Pa has never chosen his words as carefully as he does on ‘Róisín’, an impassioned love and lust song that literally couldn’t be any closer to home. To make a long story short, when I went to college I had it all! Captain of the local soccer team, I had a little car and a beautiful girlfriend. Róisín. Fast forward 18 months. I didn’t play sport, dropped out of college and I had made it impossible for Róisín to stay. Why? Alcohol. I loved what it gave me and I put it before everything and everyone. I never labelled myself an alcoholic, but after going to a bunch of councillors it became obvious that I was. A reluctant me did everything I could to keep tabs on it but after spending my rent money on a piss up and couch surfing around Cork I finally asked for help. Everything I had was gone. I spent a month in a Rehabilitation centre. The first one to visit me was Róisín. I stayed sober for awhile but in the end we had decided to call it quits, not because of a lack of love but I couldn’t put her through this again. I was lost, so was she. This song is a gift to her. Some people deserve to have their name sung from a stage.”

Pa Sheehy’s ability to dig deep and give voice to the human condition reaches new heights ‘The Art Of Disappearing’, the Irishman’s debut solo EP, which, contrary to its title will once again place him in the full glare of audiences far and wide. It packs a hefty melodic punch with choruses destined to linger long in the memory.

It wasn’t just Covid-19 and lockdown, which made 2020 a year that Pa Sheehy is unlikely to forget. After a decade fronting the Irish chart-conquering Walking On Cars, he decided last July that it was time to leave the group.

“When lockdown hit, the level of peace that came over me was something I’d never felt before. I slowed down and stopped thinking of the next song and the next gig for the first time in ten years. I knew it wouldn’t last forever so when I was ready to ‘take on the world again’. I need to keep reminding myself to take a breath every now and again.”

“There was no bust up or other big drama; it had just run its course,” he explains. “Following all those years of band democracy, I wanted to be able to totally do my own thing, which has been very liberating. Walking On Cars was an amazing period in all our lives. The people of Dingle were with us from our first gig in a local bar, Two albums later and we had toured all across the world, played to 14,000 people in Dublin’s 3Arena; and performed before Kendrick Lamar at Electric Picnic to 35,000 people singing back every word. So all in all, we did good.”

‘Róisín’, the second solo single from Pa Sheehy, is out now, with his debut EP ‘The Art Of Disappearing’ set for release on 24 September 2021 and available for preorder from https://ingroov.es/TheArtOfDisappearing

Live Dates:

Tue 28th Sept: Cyprus Avenue, Cork

Wed 29 Sept: Whelan’s, Dublin

Fri 1st Oct: Roisin Dubh, Galway

Sat 2nd Oct: St James’ Church, Dingle

Alt folk band Moxie releases single ‘The Place Above’ on 30^th July 2021, the second single to be taken from their upcoming album ‘The Dawn of Motion’, released on 3^rd September. In ‘The Place Above’ the band’s French singer Julia Spanu explores her relationship with her adopted country, Ireland.

‘The Place Above’ creatively embodies the fundamentals of pop music. Fused with Moxie’s traditional signature sound, the song is a celebration of contemporary songwriting and past heritage. Funky electric guitars and clever instrumentation allows accordions to soar above colourful electronic modulations. The song gathers hooks to make you sing and beats to make you dance. Spirited vocals and intrepid lyrics are working in harmony to inspire the excitement of dance music.

‘The Place Above’ conveys the thrill of going on an adventure without knowing where it will take you.

Moxie began its journey in 2011, when founding members Darren Roche (accordion), Jos Kelly (accordion, keyboards), Cillian Doheny (banjo, guitar) and Ted Kelly (banjo, tenor guitars) met in Miltown Malbay at popular traditional festival, The Will Clancy Summer School. They released their debut album ‘Planted’ in 2014 which Trad Connect reviewed as ‘a thought provoking and modern album that is high on creativity’. Josh Sampson (drums) joined the band in 2017, with the last and most recent member being Julia Spanu, a French vocalist/songwriter with Vietnamese and Italian roots.

Moxie has travelled the world including a state visit to Vietnam, folk festivals in Scotland, the US, and Australia, and tours in Europe and Canada. At home, they have played festivals including Body & Soul, and Electric Picnic, and were invited by President Michael D. Higgins’s to entertain German president Joachim Gauck in Áras an Uachtaráin in 2015. The Irish Times have described the band as having “irresistible revolutionary energy”, and The Irish Examiner said that, “Moxie is the music of a new era, where fluidity, cross-pollination, and innovation are the future and salvation of Irish music.”

In 2019 Moxie spent the latter months holed up in the wilds of Tipperary writing their new album. In January of 2020 Moxie started recording ‘The Dawn Of Motion‘ at Camden Studios in Dublin. The band chose Alex Borwick (Ellie Goulding, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Jack L) as the chief engineer on the project, it was produced by Jake Birch (Carly Rae Jepsen, Theo Katzman), and Jean Christophe Morel wrote and performed strings.

Moxie’s roots are in traditional Irish music, but they are reimagining it for a new era. Julia’s pop oriented writing style gave the band a chance to expand their musical horizon and craft a new sound. They work with modern music production tools and technology to explore  how far the boundaries of traditional Irish music can be pushed in creative and imaginative ways.

Moxie’s signature sound epitomises Irish tradition in the 21st century.

See MOXIE play live:

Sat. 31 July                   The Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre, Kilmanagh, Kilkenny Tickets:

Fri. 6 August                 Fleadh Fest, Sligo Tickets

Fri. 3 Sept                     Doolin Hotel, ClareTickets

Sat. 4 Sept                    Claremorris Folk Festival, Mayo https://claremorrisfolkfestival.com/

Following the famine of live music, The Sound House are proud to announce the Sounds Of The Summer series as a part of LPSS 2021 (Live Performance Support Scheme) in association with Tourism and Culture Gaeltacht and the Irish Government. Taking place this August and September in the heart of Dublin, a live experience set to spice up your summer. Combing the best of both worlds with a dual live performance and live stream event to give more artists the opportunity of performing in a professional setting whilst being broadcasted to a global audience.

The series will showcase Ireland’s hottest acts on the scene right now, giving the opportunity for new acts to make their debut and established acts to perform for the first time in over a year. The lineup includes: WILD YOUTH, Robert Grace, Ryan Mack, Ryan O’Shaughnessy, PRiiCE, Shiv, Fya Fox, SELLÓ, Celaviedmai, Loud Motive, KEHLI, Arthur Valentine, Sky Atlas, Post Party, Pauric O’Meara, Wendy Godfrey, Tomike, Jack Joyce plus more to be announced.

The Sound House at Eden Quay features The Wiley Fox bar, the lower multipurpose floor which acts as a home for Dublin’s most vibrant young promoters and wise old hands alike, who bring the best in upcoming and established local and international talent to the stage. Whilst the main room which flows out to a beautifully lit outdoor terrace acting as a trendy event hub suitable for club nights afternoon events. Join them and explore their luscious drinks and cocktail menu whilst being catered to by staff who are dedicated to exceeding your expectation, and take pride in providing you with good customer service.

Due to government restrictions and guidelines, only a limited amount of physical tickets will be available for sale.

Live show and Livestream Tickets for each gig is now available for purchase via http://thesoundhouse.ie/

Keep an eye on our socials for info regarding gigs @thesoundhousedublin

Blue Jean Sadness are a duo from Ireland. The pair needed a change of scenery after a brutal pandemic year and a life of fast-paced experiences. They found the perfect place; a modest apartment overlooking one of the largest cemeteries in the country.

As they spent months and months silently allowing the place to seep into their consciousness, these songs emerged. The result is an EP titled ‘Death In Bloom’. Angie is the singer, Zeppelin the instrumentalist, and both wrote, produced and mixed this EP whilst overlooking the graveyard.

“9 months ago, we moved into a new room, in a new apartment, overlooking this graveyard. This view has become the bedrock of our entire year. Our conversations became overtaken by this cemetery, our dreams became infused with images of graves, and our songs became overrun with thoughts of death and rebirth.” – Zeppelin.

“Death is the great unspoken bond between us all. Every human has a relationship to it, but no one wants to talk about it. This EP was born from our surroundings, from this idea that all must end and all must begin again. We hope you’ll experience this journey with us, through our music.” – Angie.

‘Your Love’s Grown Cold’ is the first single from the EP, a Rock-infused Ballad about realising you must let something go in your life, and grappling with the pain it will inevitably cause. The ‘Death In Bloom’ EP deals with these themes of grief, death, and rebirth throughout it’s 6 songs. ‘Your Love’s Grown Cold’ sums up this message perfectly.

A video for the song was filmed in the cemetery which inspired it’s creation, and shows a young woman locked in a very real battle for peace with a threatening figure….

Blue Jean Sadness are very proud to present their debut body of work, the ‘Death In Bloom’ EP.

Edinburgh based singer-songwriter, Colin Andrew has returned with a reframing of his February release, ‘Nothing Sweeter’, which has been given a fresh summer glow by Cork producer, AÓS.

Inspired by the electronic elements of the original recording (crafted by fellow Cork producer Barry O’Connell), the AÓS Remix embraces the bittersweet duality of the narrative, enhancing the light and dark moments, while staying true to the original sentiment of the piece. The remix turns an indie-folk ballad into a garage dance party.

Since releasing his debut single in 2019, Colin Andrew has been rising through the ranks at an impressive rate, making his live TV debut on TG4 and BBC 2 NI shortly after the release, establishing himself as an exciting new artist. With singles playlisted by the likes of HotPress and Indie Buddie, Colin was ready to take on the world. When the Covid pandemic stood in the way of that, Colin managed to turn it into a positive, starting a weekly live slot on his own Instagram page, which would go on to become legendary in lockdown life. Colin is currently working between Scotland and his native Kerry, always creating and regularly releasing material. A debut EP is expected in late October.

AÓS is a Cork based producer who released his debut single earlier this year, which featured on several major electronic music playlists. Shortly after, his remix of Sara Ryan’s ‘Breathe’ would showcase the producer’s ability to take a step back from a piece, and turn it into something completely different, yet familiar. This is a skill that shines through on ‘Nothing Sweeter’.

‘Nothing Sweeter (AÓS Remix)’ will be available on July 30th across all major streaming platforms.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/colinandrewmusic/ https://www.facebook.com/jordanbeatss

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/colin.andrew.mus/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/colinandrewmus

HousePlants announce the release of ‘Window Pane’, out across all digital platforms today, 28^th July.  Their debut album, ‘Dry Goods’, will be out on 17^th September.

The third single from the forthcoming album has the HousePlants creeping on their neighbours… “The everyday muffled noises we hear from our fellow humans living beside us tease us a little – a soundtrack to the mundane, the daily grind. Curtains, floorboards, hairdryers. People there alright, enough for the imagination to run with anyway.”

This follows on from the debut single ‘What’s With All The Pine?’ and ‘Companero’, which were released over the last few months.

For both artists, the project represents reclamation amidst a significantly difficult era for creative souls across Ireland and beyond. “There’s a community of music makers who mainly see each other at gigs and nights like the Choice Music Prize that feels somewhat atomised in the void of lockdown,” they say. “One of the nicer things about this time is that artists have been checking in on each other. It feels like lots of people are doing what we did.”

That sense of camaraderie and community is hard-wired into the music of HousePlants. A new tribe for modern times. All welcome.

‘Dry Goods’ Tracklist:

1. What’s With All The Pine?
2. Window Pane
3. Companero
4. No Stoppin Me
5. Mannequin
6. Ringing In My Ears
7. Burning
8. Reveller
9. Wait!

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tnWhgpR0zucG8lhmd9HKn?si=eCIgZZiQQaODK-_oZHgr2w

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/houseplantsband/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HousePlants_hi?s=09

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/WeAreHousePlants

Bandcamp:
https://wearehouseplants.bandcamp.com/releases

At 6.10pm today, multi-platinum selling #1 Irish Artist Dermot Kennedy will release his brand new single ‘Better Days’ across all digital music providers. The official music video will also launch on YouTube at the same time. Tune in to the video premiere HERE from 6.10pm.

‘Better Days’ is the first new solo music to be released by Dermot since the #1 charting, nine times platinum selling single ‘Giants’, released just over a year ago in June 2020.

http://www.dermotkennedy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/dermotkennedy/

https://www.facebook.com/dermotkennedymusic/

https://twitter.com/dermotkennedy/