Author: Danny Carroll

To conclude a busy year that began with the release of ‘Stargazer’ and a Spring tour with the legendary Paul Brady, singer/songwriter Davie Furey has a seasonal offering. A new single ‘The Rose of Bohermeen’, a love song, has as its starting point a girl in a midnight choir “that Christmas long ago”.

Produced, mixed and mastered by Martin Quinn in JAM Studies, Davie’s haunting melody, with words penned by Bohermeen born playwright Richard Ball, combine seamlessly in the kind of performance that we have come to expect from Davie Furey.

Davie – “This song came as a complete surprise to me. I have never recorded a song I haven’t written so to be able to work on The Rose of Bohermeen with my former English teacher, Richie Ball, was a great joy. I was enthused by the story behind the lyrics and it was a great privilege to be able to blend Richies’ beautiful, gentle lyrics to music.”

Richard – “The Rose of Bohermeen recalls an aunt I never knew who used to sing with her younger brother, my dad , at Christmas midnight mass many years ago. It’s the only story he ever told of her. She died at seventeen. I am a huge admirer of Davie’s work so I was delighted that he not only liked the words, but agreed to put them to music and record the song. He has worked his magic here. I am more than grateful.”

Furey handles lead vocals, as well as acoustic rhythm guitars on “The Rose of Bohermeen” with Martin Quinn on Bass, Electric Guitar, Spanish Guitar and Piano. Davie Furey’s new single, “The Rose of Bohermeen” is out today, Thursday 23rd of November.

Alternative folk mainstay Junior Brother boldly stakes out new ground with a fresh and daring single called ‘The Men Who Eat Ringforts’ , out Wednesday 22nd November, 2023 via Strange Brew , and the accompanying music video. In support of this exciting new release, Junior Brother will tour Ireland, the U.K. and Europe from November into February of next year, including a full band show in Whelan’s , Dublin on December 23rd . Tickets and more information are available at www.juniorbrother.com

“The song recounts a scene in rural Ireland all too common today: the bulldozing of a ringfort for a coming motorway,” explains Junior Brother, a.k.a. County Kerry’s Ronan Kealy. ‘The Men Who Eat Ringforts’ is a twitch of frustration, spat into modernity’s hollow wheel before it clears the way. Sacred things unseen to the suits are still there for them willing to look.”

The unsettling music video, directed by Ellius Grace , features Junior Brother himself as one of those suits, being held captive by a mummer and ultimately succumbing to his own hubris. The visuals “represent the push-and-pull between modernity and the earth, and how the two are ultimately interlinked,” Junior Brother shares.

The brand new release follows on from June’s epic Junior Brother’s Favourite EP and 2022’s highly acclaimed Double LP The Great Irish Famine , its “wry songs of anxiety and frustration” (The Guardian) described by MOJO Magazine as being “Truly unforgettable”. Now, this new single boldly signposts an exciting new chapter for the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards and Choice Music Prize nominee’s stunningly distinctive sound.

A truly unmissable live act, “equal parts familiar and bracingly unique … If you get a chance to catch Junior Brother live, do not pass it up” (Dazed Magazine).

You can also listen to Junior Brother on The IMRO Podcast with Zara Hedderman from September 2022:

Junior Brother Tour Dates
Mon 20th Nov: Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tue 21st Nov: Poppodium Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
Wed 22nd Nov: Victory Podium, Alkmaar, Netherlands
Thu 23rd Nov: Poppodium Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
Fri 24th Nov: De Oosterpoort, Da Groningen, Netherlands
Sun 26th Nov: Headcrash, Hamburg, Germany
Mon 27th Nov: Marie-Antoinette, Berlin, Germany
Tue 28th Nov: Café V lese, Praha, Czech Republic
Wed 29th Nov: VooDoo Club, Warszawa, Poland
Thu 30th Nov: Pod Minogą, Poznań, Poland
Fri 1st Dec: Flex, Vienna, Austria
Tue 5th Dec: Cactus Club, Brugge, Belgium
Wed 6th Dec: Merleyn, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Sun 17th Dec: Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, Ireland
Sat 23rd Dec: Whelan’s, Dublin, Ireland
Thu 28th Dec: DeBarras Folk Club, Clonakilty, Ireland
Thu 1st Feb: Bobik’s, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Fri 2nd Feb: The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, UK
Sat 3rd Feb: Gullivers, Manchester, UK
Sun 4th Feb: Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, UK
Wed 7th Feb: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK
Thu 8th Feb: Canteen, Bristol, UK
Fri 9th Feb: The Star Inn, Guildford, UK
Sat 10th Feb: The Smokehouse, Ipswich, UK
Mon 12th Feb: The George Tavern, London, UK

Having thrilled Irish audiences with her enormously successful headline slot at this year’s Electric Picnic Music & Arts Festival, main Stage. Irish Pop-Dance Diva LYRA returns with her tinsel version of her seasonal record, ‘The Magic of Christmas’, which was released Friday November 17th.

LYRA has revisited this plaintive heartfelt song to make it even more warm rich and Christmassy with what she calls the ‘Tinsel Version’. “The Magic of Christmas” (Tinsel Version) has had an impressive 177K streams on Spotify. Upon initial release the record charted, #1 Holiday iTunes Ireland # 2 on Shazam Ireland, # 13 on Music iTunes Ireland charts. Support across Spotify’s New Music Holiday, Irish Christmas, Easy Christmas playlists and Apple Music Holiday Hits.

Expect to hear plenty of this Yuletide cracker in the coming weeks, ‘The Magic Of Christmas’ (Tinsel Version) has been selected for a consecutive year by An Post to be the soundtrack to their 2023 advertising campaign.

2023 has been a stellar year for the Cork Superstar. LYRA has enjoyed the release of her new single “Lovers” last September which spent 5 weeks on the Homegrown Singles Chart, it is the first single to be taken from her forthcoming debut album due for release early next year.

* LYRA will commence a 16 date tour ahead of her album release in 2024*

February:
* Thurs 15th Feb – Waterford / Theatre Royal
* Sat 17th Feb – Kilkenny / Langtons
* Tues 20th Feb – Cork / Opera House
* Wed 21st Feb – Cork / Opera House
* Fri 23rd Feb – Drogheda / TLT
* Sat 24th Feb – Dublin / Olympia Theatre
* Tues 27th Feb – Cavan / Town Hall
* Thurs 29th Feb – Galway / Leisureland

March:
* Friday 1st Mar – Gweedore / Social Live
* Sat 2nd Mar – Derry / Nerve Centre
* Fri 8th Mar – Killarney / INEC
* Sat 9th Mar – Limerick / Milk Market
* Sun 10th Mar – Belfast / Waterfront
* Thursday 14th Mar – Mullingar / Arts Centre
* Fri 15th Mar – Dublin / Olympia
* Sat 16th Mar – Castlebar / TF Royal Theatre

# Follow LYRA #

https://www.instagram.com/thisislyra/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/thisislyra/

You can also listen to Lyra’s interview with Tony Clayton-Lea on The IMRO Podcast:

Irish singer-songwriter Honas has a collab with German producer LO on Spotify – a song called ‘Control ’ – that has 20 million streams.  He also wrote the music for Google’s official ‘Year In Search 2022 ’, a video that has 296 million views.

Now signed to Mount Silver Records, the label based in Berlin and London and distributed by Virgin / Universal Music Group, Honas prepares to release his debut single worldwide.

‘Everyday Life ’ arrives on Friday, November 10th . The single was produced by Marian Plösch and John Catlin, who have worked with global superstars like The 1975, Inhaler, Interpol, Florence & the Machine, La Roux, Warpaint and The Killers.

Honas says of the track: “I had this idea to write something from the perspective of someone else. It felt almost intrusive to get into someone’s head like that, but it was one of those moments where my heart rate sped up as I realised I was writing something that felt really special. I had seen the relationship between these two people up close, so I really hoped I could capture the essence of it, the love, the differences, the frustration, the admiration and the empathic well-wishing.”

Originally from Sligo, Honas (real name Hugh O’Neill) draws his creative spirit from the unique years of his childhood. Growing up along the rugged coastline, speaking the Irish language and throwing himself into Gaelic football; but a portion of his early years were spent living in Guyana, South America, where his obsession with music was ignited.

This diverse cultural exposure, coupled with a newfound appreciation for classic Western songwriting upon his return to Ireland, moulded Honas’ musical identity. His tender, intimate vocals and emotionally charged songwriting give birth to tracks that effortlessly transform into irresistibly catchy ear worms.

After joining Lisa Hannigan, Saint Sister and Nealo at the musical pilgrimage that was Hibernacle in 2020, Honas spent the next few years working behind the scenes, honing his craft and collaborating on projects such as songwriter and vocals for the 2022 Google Year in Search video, gaining almost 300 million views as well as his song ‘Control ’ with German producer LO amassing 20 million streams to date.

Honas’ sonic evolution, guided by experiences in studios across London, Berlin and Vienna alongside acclaimed producers (The 1975, Inhaler, Interpol, Florence & the Machine, La Roux, Warpaint and The Killers), has paved the way for his debut single, ‘Everyday Life, out on 10th November 2023, with more to follow in early 2024.

Irish alt/rock band NewDad have shared their latest track ‘Nightmares’ – the third track to be released from their upcoming album, MADRA (listen here) A rousing track that battles with temptation, and also had its premiere on Clara Amfo’s Radio 1 show earlier this week, Julie Dawson (singer/guitarist) says: “Nightmares is about longing for something or someone, even though you shouldn’t, for whatever reason. It’s about not wanting to fall for someone because you know it’d never work. Basically, just wishing you despised them instead of adoring them.”

The official video was directed by Zack Arlo with Co-Direction by Oliver Day. In their words – “The Irish word for Nightmares is tromluí, meaning trom (heavy; burden; oppression) + luí (lying down; state of rest). We took this as inspiration for the concept of the Nightmares video, given how much the Irish language has inspired the band. As Julie escapes the mundanity of her bedroom, her fate is sealed with the bite of a forbidden plum.”

Announced recently, Madra (meaning “dog” in Irish) is an 11-song, guitar-stacked visceral outing, as singer/guitarist Julie Dawson embarks on a journey of self-exploration, self-sabotage, and reflection. Soaked in dysfunction, Madra searches for solace in pain, tackling themes of bullying, self-medication/depression, destruction, co-dependency and resistance. The album artwork, photographed by Irish creative, Joshua Gordon, shows a broken doll that serves as a metaphor for the album’s themes of fragility and vulnerability. Upon its unveiling, NewDad dropped their grunge-fuelled album opener ‘Angel’ (listen here) and soon followed-up with ‘Let Go’ (official video).

The album finds NewDad reconnect with their musical roots, digging deep into the shoegaze/rock sonics that soundtracked their formative years (the band cite Pixies, The Cure and Slowdive as some of their biggest early influences), together with glimmers of indie/pop that harks back to their earlier material: ‘Waves EP’ (2021) and ‘Banshee EP’ (2022). Written in their home city of Galway, Ireland, before the band moved to London this year, and recorded at the legendry Rockfield Studios (Black Sabbath, Queen), the album has been produced by NewDad’s long-time collaborator Chris W Ryan (Just Mustard) and mixed by Alan Moulder (The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Wet Leg). Bound together by Julie’s ghostly vocal – a vessel for her weighty, introspective songwriting – Madra firmly marks NewDad as one of Ireland’s most promising debut guitar bands.

The band will tour the UK and Ireland in Feb/March 2024.

Madra tracklisting

1. Angel
2. Sickly Sweet
3. Where I Go
4. Change My Mind
5. In My Head
6. Nosebleed
7. Let Go
8. Dream Of Me
9. Nightmares
10. White Ribbons
11. Madra

UK & Ireland Tour
1 Dec 2023         Galway                              Roisin Dubh SOLD OUT
24 Feb 2024       Leeds                                 Belgrave Music Hall
25 Feb 2024       Manchester                     Band On The Wall
26 Feb 2024       Glasgow                            St Luke’s
28 Feb 2024       Dublin                               Button Factory SOLD OUT
29 Feb 2024       Dublin                               Button Factory TICKETS
2 March 2024    Birmingham                     O2 Institute
3 March 2024    Bristol                                Trinity
5 March 2024    London                             Koko

About NewDad

Galway-formed band NewDad (a moniker they picked from a random name generator) formed in Galway, Ireland in 2020 after coming together for a musical practical at school, as part of a final year project. It’s a songwriting journey that began at the age of nine, when singer/guitarist Julie Dawson took up guitar after falling for Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriele via her parent’s record collection before developing her skill set at various summer camps.

NewDad have released two hyped EP’s previously – Waves (2021) and Banshee (2022) – both of which were produced by Chris W Ryan, with the latter mixed by John Congleton (St Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers). Since signing to Atlantic Records earlier this year, the band have dropped two tracks, ‘In My Head’ (which will feature on their debut) and ‘Break In’.

Part of the Ireland’s fruitful music scene – one that’s generated Fontaine’s D.C, CMAT and Just Mustard over recent years – NewDad are here to remind us of the restlessness, anxieties, and the sometimes-flawed relationships that we’ve all had to navigate throughout our lives. Straddling the autobiographical with the fantastical, the band also draw influence from modern-day cinema/TV and their home city of Galway.

NewDad recently returned to their homeland to playa sold out show at Dublin’s Grand Social. They have previously opened for Paolo Nutini at Alexandra Palace, Fontaines DC at Custom House Square and Inhaler at Fairview Park.

MICAH has today released her latest single Narcissist.

The Tipperary singer’s recent releases include tracks ‘Shatterproof’, ‘Stranger’, ‘Running to You’, ‘Heaven and Hell’, and ‘Blame’, which have received airplay on major radio stations and garnered attention on Spotify. Her success has also translated to live performances, where she commands the stage with a presence that captivates audiences. 

One notable highlight in MICAH’s journey was her headline show at Whelans on Saturday, August 19th. The event was a sold-out sensation, earning recognition as Today FM’s Track of the Week. It marked a significant milestone in her career, signalling a powerful era of music-making. 

Here’s what MICAH had to say about “Narcissist”: 

“This song is coming from a place of pain, but through it, I found strength. You can try your best to help someone and give everything to them. However, when it comes at a cost to your own well-being, you have got to walk away. Life is too short for being fake. Those who truly have your back will be there and those that just take, take, take need to be forgotten… and that is what this song represents. When you’re around people who say all the right things but their actions are the opposite you need to protect yourself’’.

Mark Geary has a new single “Hollow” out today. This is the third song to be released from the forthcoming album In The Time Of Locusts (out early next year). Following on from singles The Forest and Spectre.

Recorded in Mark’s cottage in the forest in Celbridge, some of the folk who played and worked on the album include Ruth O’ Mahoney Brady, Glen Hansard, Dave Odlum and Karl Odlum.

Mark explains further:“From the hollow we climb- It feels like it’s that moment when you’ve climbed out into the sunlight after a hurricane has passed, or some epic calamity, and I’m counting the cost and seeing what could be salvaged, the gallows and flowers, and priests with a past and Snake charmers and Sanskrit messages to decipher.”

Live in December

Coughlan’s, Cork – Dec 3^rd

Whelan’s, Dublin – Dec 10^th

Bio

Irish singer-songwriter Mark Geary left Ireland with a one-way ticket to New York and a heart full of hope over twenty years ago. There, in Sin-é cafe, Mark honed his craft and sang alongside the best of them, including the late Jeff Buckley. Time Out NY said, “His delicate songs about love and defiance recall Richard Thompson and John Lennon.”

With five studio and three live albums, touring and live performances are still Mark’s lifeblood. Geary’s sound is stripped back. He treats his songs with trademark Geary honesty. His lyrics slice right through to the core revealing a life laid bare of human emotional frailty, failed relationships, tenderness, hurt, making amends, desire and parting. His treasured guitar collection is always close at hand, each set up in a different tuning. Geary has featured on bills with musicians as diverse as Glen Hansard, John Prine, Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, Coldplay and The Frames amongst others plus extensive headlining tours in Europe, including extensively in Italy and Switzerland, as well as the US. He has composed the full score for three films and has many songs featured in films and TV programmes. At the end of 2022 Mark completed a sell-out month-long residency in the new Little Whelan’s at Whelan’s in Dublin with his band. Mark welcomed special guests each week and curated the shows. In early 2023 Mark toured both the north and south regions of Italy as well as Ireland.

Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, Keelan X, is due to round of a bustling year with the
release of his epic new single, Fresh Paint.

2023 has been a successful year for the nomadic Irish artist which has seen his diverse synth-pop
sound reach music lovers around the world. Following a unique interpretation of Johnny Logan’s
1980 Eurovision winner, What’s Another Year, Keelan unveiled electro-pop banger, Never Wanted
Nobody Else, in October.

Fast forward four weeks and Keelan is once again able to illustrate his chameleonic approach to
songwriting, through the atmospheric single Fresh Paint. Hazy and nostalgic yet grooving and
contemporary, Keelan seamlessly melds cinematic 80s soundscapes with sleek, modern electropop,
creating a reflective piece of work.

Providing an emotional inner landscape of Keelan’s view of modern life, the singer tackles themes
of relationship misfires, boundary setting, self-discovery and defiance. The song’s title alludes to
how we metaphorically paint over our own emotional landscape before quickly moving onto the
next scenario.

Fresh Paint will be Keelan’s final release of the year having already gained support from the likes
of BBC Introducing Three Counties & Northants, RTÉ 2, Amazing Radio, Today FM, The Vinyl
District, Synthpoplover, Hot Press, Side-Line Magazine, and Electricity Club.

Keelan will bring the year to a close as he prepares to perform his live debut headline gig at The Workmans Club Cellar in Dublin on the 26th of November 2023

Ro Yourell says: “How my Heart Beats’ is a love song. It explores the intangible quality of love, that which cannot be contrived or contained. Love arrives and departs without warning. It can give us a new perspective, help us to see the world in technicolor.”

The insistent guitar and shaker instrumentation symbolise the sense of purpose that love for another can give us, and the close harmony is reminiscent of the intimacy captured by songwriting greats like Simon & Garfunkel or Lennon & McCartney.

“True love for me, is not all passion and fervour,” Ro elaborates. “It is about patience, slowing our bodies and minds down, in search of connection, or commonality. In a time of so much division, it helps me to write and sing these words, to remind myself that love is out there and will respond if we project it.”

The Delorentos frontman shares the romantic, intimate song with fans as a follow-up to his debut solo single, ‘Freedom’, which was released in September and garnered widespread airplay across stations like Today FM, RTE 2FM, Radio Nova, KCLR FM, 98FM, FM104 and more.

Yourell is best known for his work as a member of Delorentos, a band that’s enjoyed massive success in Ireland and internationally, and is now on hiatus while its members pursue other projects. The four-piece have played stages across the world and racked up a RTÉ Choice Music Prize win for their acclaimed third album Little Sparks in 2012. Ro Yourell (vocals, guitar, piano), Kieran McGuinness (vocals, guitar), Níal Conlan (bass, backing vocals) and Ross McCormick (drums, backing vocals) last played live as Delorentos in 2019.

“We’d been going solidly for the guts of 15 years by then, but got to a point where our lives were moving in different directions,” Yourell explains. Our band has always been about four songwriters working in collaboration. For the time being, we can’t make music the way we would like to, so it felt natural to take a pause.”

Making his own music is a freeing but at times daunting experience. Having played in bands since he was 16, Yourell found it strange on his own initially: “I forged an identity as part of a collective, so I had some existential moments along the way asking, ‘Who is Ro?’”

Yourell ended up embracing this deliciously frightening unknown. He says: “An exciting thing for me in terms of my solo work is the scope. “I don’t have to take anyone else into account. I can be selfish, following the song wherever it leads me.”

Yourell’s solo sound focuses on meditative, intimate lyrics with a distinct poetic flair and driving melody.

Follow Ro Yourell across socials for news of new music and upcoming live dates.