Rock Against Homelessness in aid of Focus Ireland

Corinne Bailey Rae, Toshín, Aimée, The White Horse Guitar Club and Isaac Butler

3Olympia Theatre on Sunday 26 May

Sponsored by Cadbury, Arachas Insurance and Hard Rock Café

The Sunday Independent’s Rock Against Homelessness in aid of Focus Ireland returns for its ninth year on May 26th in the 3Olympia with Grammy Award winner Corinne Bailey as headline act. The gig will also feature a glittering array of talent including Toshín, Aimée, The White Horse Guitar Club and Isaac Butler and the evening will be once again MCed by Laura Whitmore.

Corinne Bailey Rae is fresh from her hugely successful and highly acclaimed fourth album Black Rainbows released in September 2023. Inspired by her visits to the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, the 10-track collection is a testament not only to the stimulating power the Stony Island Arts Bank collection has but also the depth of Bailey Rae’s gifts as a songwriter and vocalist. With rave reviews from NME, The New York Times and Mojo, Black Rainbows is a career highlight. Corinne says, ‘I am proud to be headlining Rock Against Homelessness 2024 to help support Focus Ireland’s work challenging homelessness and changing lives.’

Rising Irish artist Aimée has been busy carving out her niche in the pop arena. Her debut EP Confessions shot to the number one spot in the iTunes pop album chart and her single “Bulletproof”, written in response to online bullies, proved that hers was a voice committed to championing causes close to her heart, and led to a battle for the top spot in the iTunes chart with Billie Eilish.

Toshín, led by the powerful voice of Tosin Bankole, is a vibrant 6-piece band who take their inspiration from a variety of music spanning from early Motown to modern soul and R&B. Their debut EP Get Your Life was released in 2019, and was followed by a nationwide Irish tour and key festival performances. Since then, Toshín’s profile has been steadily on the rise and shows no signs of stopping.

The eleven men who make up The White Horse Guitar Club took to the stage in the intimate room upstairs in The White Horse to perform a repertoire shaped by 10 years on the road together. The finest Americana fused with Irish roots, the resulting music is the culmination of hours upon hours spent together playing and touring and celebration of a friendship cemented over those 10 years.

Singer-songwriter Isaac Butler has spent the last 2 years building his profile through music releases, live gigs and playing the Irish festival. His songs have collectively received over a million streams on Spotify and the young Dubliner is tipped for great things.

The Sunday Independent’s annual charity concert Rock Against Homelessness has been one of the musical highlights of the year since its inception and this year promises to be no different. 

Sponsored by Cadbury, Arachas and Hard Rock Café in Temple Bar, with 2FM as media partners, Rock Against Homelessness has seen household names headline, including Glen Hansard and The Boomtown Rats in 2017, Imelda May and Dermot Kennedy in 2018, Fontaines DC in 2020, Pillow Queens and Aslan in 2021, and Kojaque and Damien Dempsey in 2022.  

Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said: “Sadly the homelessness crisis has deepened again as 13,531 people are now homeless and shockingly this includes over 4,000 children. The number of people homeless has shot up 15% in the last year. However, the situation would be a lot worse again without the hard work of Focus Ireland and other organisations. Rock Against Homelessness helps us to achieve our goals and for this we are grateful.”

Tickets €30.00 from 3Olympia Theatre Box Office / www.ticketmaster.ie

Online bookings are subject to 12.5% service charge.

Music for Galway Presents

A new international cello festival on the edge of Europe.

Galway, Ireland: May 18 – 26, 2024

Stars of the cello and classical world announced for Galway include Eimear Noone (Irish, conductor and composer), Alban Gerhardt (German, cello), Camille Thomas (Franco-Belgian, cello), Nicolas Altstaedt (German-French, cello), Jakob Koranyi (Swedish, cello), Karmit Fadael (Dutch-Israeli, composer), Rachel Croash (Irish, soprano), Daria van den Bercken (Dutch-Russian, piano), Bogdan Sofei (Romanian-Irish, violin), Killian White (Irish, cello), Natalie Clein (British, cello), the National Symphony Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Cello Ireland and many more.

Yesterday, February 20, 2024, Music for Galway have announced the full programme for Cellissimo, a new international cello festival on the edge of Europe, running across Galway city and county from Saturday May 18 to Sunday May 26 inclusive. Featuring hundreds of artists, composers, musicians, performers, and speakers, Cellissimo will gather the leading lights of the cello, classical and contemporary scene for nine incredible days and nights of music, song, and story in the West of Ireland. With thousands due to visit Galway over the festival run, Cellissimo will be a dynamic, inclusive, accessible celebration, appealing to both classical aficionados and first timers alike, striking a chord with Irish and international music audiences.

Cellissimo will also be a forum for the exploration of the power of music and the arts to drive understanding and influence behavioural change around the shared global challenges of the climate crisis, migration, and sustainability, with two distinctive programmes deeply embedded in the festival’s DNA: The collaborative community project Galway Bay is Calling, funded by the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative of Creative Ireland, led by Music for Galway in partnership with Galway Atlantaquaria and Atlantic Technological University; and Songs of Travel, a three year, transnational Creative Europe Cooperation Project, ideated by Music for Galway CEO Anna Lardi, led by Music for Galway, in partnership with Fairplay Chamber Music, Sweden; Valdres Sommersymfoni, Norway; Piano Biënnale, The Netherlands and Austrian game development studio Causa Creations.

Galway Bay is Calling will be the afternoon opening event of Cellissimo on Saturday May 18, with Galway-born, Florence–based cellist, composer, and singer Naomi Berrill and more than one hundred singers, musicians, and performers from Galway Jam Circle, Voice of Galway, and Galway Camerata.

Opening night will see the commencement of the festival-long performance and discussion programme Songs of Travel. The Journey Begins will feature keynote speaker, former President of Ireland, Chair of the Elders and climate justice advocate Mary Robinson and the National Symphony Orchestra with a star-studded cast including cellists Alban Gerhardt and Jakob Koranyi and Cellissimo Artistic Director Finghin Collins on piano. The evening will host the debut of a new work for cello, piano and orchestra by composer Djuro Zivkovic, the first of five world premieres commissioned through Songs of Travel, each of which will be performed for the first time ever at Cellissimo. Other composers, artists, musicians, and speakers taking part in Songs of Travel events throughout the festival include Elaine Agnew, Lasse Thoresen, Hawar Tawfiq, Karmit Fadael, Killian White, Stephanie Dufresne, Rachel Croash, Alex Petcu, Macdara Ó Seireadain, Adedotun Adekeye, Pol Ó Conghaile and many more.

Elsewhere on theCellissimo programme, audiences will enjoy the National Symphony Orchestra in the hometown debut of world acclaimed Galway conductor and composer Eimear Noone, with the incredible Adrian Mantu of the ConTempo Quartet; The Story of a Cello with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Franco-Belgian cello sensation Camille Thomas; a chamber concert with German–French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and friends; the Bach Plus series – six newly commissioned cello pieces by six Irish composers to accompany Bach’s six cello suites –  which will be performed at St. Nicholas Collegiate Church in the city during the day, and then at locations across the county in the evening, including Campbell’s Tavern, Ballynahinch Castle, Claregalway Castle and more. 

Also on the bill, Classic Hour at Town Hall Theatre, a three-part series of classic favourites for cello and piano featuring Alban Gerhardt with Hugh Tinney, Killian White with Daria van den Bercken, and Natalie Clein with Music for Galway and Cellissimo Artistic Director Finghin Collins. 

For more than 40 years, nurturing emerging talent has been at the heart of the work of Music for Galway. The Cellissimo Ambassador programme grew out of the Galway Cello project, an instrument commissioned for the first, albeit virtual, edition of Cellissimo in 2020. Mullingar cellist Catherine Cotter has been keeper of the Galway Cello for three years and returns to Galway to lead the Cellissimo Ambassador Evening. During this event, a promising young cellist will be named the new Cellissimo Ambassador and will take charge of the Galway Cello for the next three years. Separately, Cellissimo will welcome eight rising cello stars from across Europe who will take part in a series of exceptional Masterclasses, along with a Student Showcase Concert and pop-up events across Galway.

In a Music for Galway co—production with the award-winning young people’s theatre company Branar, The Song of the Trees will be a firm favourite with families at the Town Hall Theatre. A new and original performance piece, combining live music and storytelling, The Song of the Trees will be narrated by Little John Nee, with Neil Martin on cello, devised and directed by Marc MacLochlainn.

The Cellissimo Spectacular will see Cello Ireland, the eight international cello students and amateur cellists of all ages and abilities take to the Leisureland stage for an incredible programme, with international stars including soprano Claudia Boyle and cellists Nicolas Altstaedt, Adrian Mantu, and Catherine Cotter.

The Inishbofin Cello Trail closes the festival  on Sunday May 26, with gathered revellers travelling by bus from Galway city to Cleggan, with a stop off at Kylemore Abbey, before taking the ferry to the breathtaking Inishbofin Island for a musical journey of discovery and a feast of local food.

The place for all to gather in the evening will be the Festival Club at HYDE, a series of nightly trad sessions curated and led by Galway musician Michael Chang. The floor will be open to visiting cellists, musicians, and performers, and the results will be one-of-a-kind musical moments.

Sustainability is at the heart of Cellissimo, with the festival team working towards achieving sustainable operation. This includes the encouragement and facilitation of artists and participants to sustainably travel to Ireland and Galway by sail and rail where possible, realised through generous partnerships with both Irish Ferries and Irish Rail, Cellissimo Sustainable Travel Partners. Cellissimo calls on all audiences to consider sustainable travel in their festival plans.

Explore the full programme of events and purchase tickets now at cellissimo.ie

Cellissimo is made possible by our Funders Creative Europe Cooperation Project Fund, The Arts Council of Ireland, the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland , funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and Galway City Council; Sponsored by Dunard Fund USA, AIB Community Fund, Lifes2good Foundation, Optique Opticians, Techrete, Tigh Neachtain, KPMG, MJ Conroy; Sustainable Travel Partners Irish Rail and Irish Ferries; National Media Partners The Irish Times, RTÉ Supporting the Arts, and Lyric FM; Local Media Partners Galway Bay FM, Galway Advertiser, Galway City Tribune, Connacht Tribune; Accommodation and Venue Partners HYDE Hotel, Park House Hotel, The Connacht Hotel, The Hardiman Hotel, University of Galway, Atlantic Technological University, Town Hall Theatre, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, Galway Arts Centre; Sustainability Partner iSupply; Mental Health Partner Minding Creative Minds; Generous Supporters Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, Diginet and Inishbofin Ferry and the many patrons and friends who support Music for Galway throughout the year.

Releases new single ‘Atone’ on 1 March

Padraig Jack releases new single ‘Atone’ on 1^st March, the second single to be taken from his upcoming sophomore album. ‘Atone’ is Padraig Jack’s first release featuring original member of The Waterboys and current Saw Doctor, Anthony Thistlethwaite. The song features Jack’s typically thought-provoking lyrics which emphasise the importance of listening to other people’s point of view especially those you disagree with, while the tune is highlighted with a catchy sax riff.

Padraig and Anthony first met when Padraig opened for The Saw Doctors in 2018 and have been working together on Padraig’s new album since summer 2023. Padraig explains, ‘I grew up listening to The Waterboys and The Saw Doctors. There’s even something of a family connection as my dad was involved in bringing The Waterboys to Aran in 1988. It’s an honour to be working with Anthony on my album.’

Padraig Jack (O Flaithearta) was born into a musical family from the Aran islands. His dad is the songwriter Barry Ronan and he is the nephew of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley. A native of Inis Mór which has produced writers Liam O’Flaithearta, Máirtín Ó Direáin and Breandán Ó hEithir, Padraig is proudly bilingual both as a conversationalist and a songwriter.

Jack’s songwriting heroes include James Taylor, Enya, Van Morrison, Shane McGowan, Sinead O’Connor, and Richard Thompson. He seeks to develop his own songwriting style in the Irish language also. With plaudits from industry legends like Mike Scott, Sharon Shannon and Miles Hunt, and laudatory reviews from the likes of Hot Press, Padraig Jack has already made his mark on the Irish music scene.

Padraig kicked off 2024 with a run of shows with Miles Hunt in the UK before playing a sold-out show at Dublin TradFest in the Pepper Canister Church and a tour of Wales with Welsh language artist Meinir Gwilym. His current tour takes in dates in England and all over Ireland, including a Paddy’s Day gig at Kilkenny TradFest with a full band featuring Anto Thistlethwaite.

Wed. 6 March    MTU Gallery, Cork w. Greenshine. Seachtain na Gaeilge     Show 1.00pm / Free show

Fri. 8 March       Butter Market, Kenmare w. Greenshine.                           Show 8.00pm / Tickets €26.50

Fri. 15 March     Joe Wattys, Árainn for Seachtain na Gaeilge                     Show 8.00pm / Free show

Sun. 17 March   Parade Stage, TradFest, Kilkenny – Full Band *                   Show 3.00pm / Free Show

Sat. 23 March    Town Hall, Gort – Trio *                                                  Show 8.00pm /Tickets €20

Sun. 24 March   Coughlans, Cork w. David Hope, SAL                                 Show 7.30pm / Tickets €15

Fri. 29 March     Coynes Unplugged, Cill Chiaran Conamara                         Show 8.00pm / Tickets €20

*Anto Thistlethwaite

www.padraigjack.com

By Eamon Carr published by The Lilliput Press

Available to pre-order now  / In bookshops from 21^st September

Launch in Dubray Books, 36 Grafton Street at 6pm on 28th September.

In Showbusiness with Blood: A Golden Age of Irish Boxing, Eamon Carr takes readers on an epic trip through Irish boxing.

Boxing, Ireland’s most successful sport, was turbo-charged in the mid-1990s as Irish boxers excelled and stories from this period are interspersed with stories from throughout Eamon’s life, including his career in music.” 

For almost three decades, Carr was ringside for the most important fights, from legends like Steve Collins and Mike Tyson to newer faces like Tyson Fury and Katie Taylor. Behind the scenes, he witnessed the fighters’ sacrifices, dedication and emotional turmoil. Showbusiness with Blood takes the reader on a journey through Irish boxing’s years of triumph and desolation, with stories from gruelling training camps, noisy press conferences, behind-the-scenes hustling and the savage brutality of championship fights. With dramatic stories of fulfilment and frustration, glory and failure, Carr charts exceptional examples of heroism, aspiration and personal redemption.

“Boxers display enormous courage,” says Carr. “While not all become champions, their bravery and commitment remains inspirational.”

Eamon Carr is a journalist and art historian, and founder member of Horslips, the pioneering folk-rock group in which he is lyricist and drummer. The group’s most recent release is More Than You Can Chew, a boxset of 33 albums. His published work includes The Origami Crow: Journey into Japan World Cup Summer 2002, Deirdre Unforgiven and Foundation Song. His verse plays include DUSK (2016) and CúChulainn Awakes (2020). He is a widely-published commentator on culture, arts and sport.

Showbusiness with Blood: A Golden Age of Irish Boxing will be launched on 28^th September in Dubray Books on Grafton Street at 6pm. Eamon will read from the book and be joined in conversation with Mannix Flynn, (Independent Dublin City Councillor, author and playwright).

‘In his compelling and beautifully-written book, Eamon Carr does not shy away from the darkness and danger of boxing but draws us deep into its vivid and mysterious world. It flows with riveting stories of great fighters – an unforgettable addition to the rich history of Irish boxing.’ – Donald McRae.

Re-release ‘All Around The Town’

feat. guest vocalists Damien Dempsey & Christy Dignam

Announce live show on 15 Dec in Button Factory, Dublin

Dublin band The Rattling Kind re-release their landmark single ‘All Around The Town’ on 6^th October, taken from the upcoming album ‘Home’ due for release early next year. Fans of Irish drama Love/Hate will recognise ‘All Around The Town’ from the international DVD release of the show where it gained recognition around the world, from building sites in NYC to outback Australia.

‘All Around The Town’ is an anti-gang and anti-violence anthem, reminiscent of folk legends The Dubliners at their rabble-rousing best. Originally the song had no guest vocalists but for the re-release, lead singer Eddie Sherlock approached two iconic Dublin singers, Damien Dempsey and Christy Dignam of Aslan, to see if they would like to contribute guest vocals. Both agreed and they recorded the song in June 2022; the last song Christy recorded before his death in June of this year.

Eddie was moved to write the song when a young man he knew, Warren O Connor, was murdered in a knife attack. Eddie recounts, ‘He was the first person I ever knew to be

murdered, and it sent a shockwave through the area. Gangland crime hadn’t really taken off at that point, whereas now it’s become somewhat of an epidemic. I would like to think this song can send out some sort of a hopeful message to the youth of today not to fall down the wrong path as it’s something I’ve seen a lot of over the years.’

Shot in Dublin’s Chocolate Factory and on the streets of Dublin at dusk, the video features a powerful performance by the band and Damien Dempsey. This is interspersed with in-studio black and white footage of Dignam; a haunting tribute to a much-missed Irish hero.

The Rattling Kind are led by Dublin-born singer/songwriter, guitar player and percussionist, Eddie Sherlock, who grew up on Dublin’s Northside, surrounded by music and a tradition of family performance. In his twenties, he discovered he had a strong singing voice and after learning a few chords on the guitar he hit the ground running, performing widely on the Dublin pub and session scene. Eddie soon started to explore and develop his own songwriting and with the help of some friends, embarked on putting together a band called The Rattling Kind. He is joined by Domo Dixon (lead guitar, keyboards), Khalile Vial (drums) and Frankie O’Mahony (bass).

The Rattling Kind will take to the stage in Dublin’s Button Factory on the 15^th December to mark the launch of the single. Doors open 7.30pm and tickets on sale from Eventbrite at €23.50.

Fri. 15 Dec       Button Factory, Dublin           Doors 7.30pm / Tickets €23.50

Facebook / Instagram / Tik Tok /  Spotify / Twitter / Youtube

BIG BROTHER RECORDINGS CELEBRATE THE 25^TH ANNIVERSARY OF OASIS’ ICONIC B-SIDES ALBUM ‘THE MASTERPLAN’

WITH COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS FEATURING REMASTERED AUDIO

September 20, 2023: Big Brother Recordings Ltd today announce the release of limited-edition collector’s formats to celebrate the silver anniversary of Oasis’ iconic album ‘The Masterplan’. 25 years since the original release, November 3^rd will see new formats made available including CD, cream cassette, and limited-edition double vinyl formats (heavyweight silver, green and black marble and black). The new formats feature remastered audio, taken from the ‘Chasing The Sun’ reissues – available for the first time as one collection. Pre-order here.

‘The Masterplan’ is an extraordinary collection of B-sides originally featured on singles from Oasis’ era-defining first three albums, ‘Definitely Maybe’ (1994), ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ (1995), and ‘Be Here Now’ (1997). Far from being inferior to the A-sides they backed, many of the 14 tracks that feature on ‘The Masterplan’ have become as cherished as the band’s biggest hits from that seminal period. Oasis were following in the tradition of artists like The Jam and The Smiths; both influences on Noel who took great care over their B-Sides.  In today’s streaming led musical landscape where the traditional single no longer exists, it could be argued that Oasis were the last truly great singles band, and that ‘The Masterplan’ is proof of that. Watch the album trailer here.

The album includes several landmark Oasis songs, tracks like ‘Acquiesce’, originally found on the ‘Some Might Say’ CD single and unforgettably co-sung by the Gallagher brothers, and ‘Half The World Away’, from the ‘Whatever’ CD single, which later found fame as the theme tune to the much-loved comedy series ‘The Royle Family’ – not to mention the epic title track, which originally appeared as the fourth bonus track on the ‘Wonderwall’ CD single. Noel has often described ‘The Masterplan’ as one of the best songs he has ever written.

It also includes ‘Talk Tonight’ a remarkable solo acoustic recording by Noel, plus ‘Stay Young,’ ‘Listen Up’, ‘Going Nowhere’, ‘Fade Away’ and ‘Rockin’ Chair’… songs so good they would have been singles for any other band.

‘The Masterplan’ charted at No.2 in the UK Official Album Chart UK selling almost 122,000 copies in its first week of release in 1998.  It went on to be certified triple platinum and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Pre-order formats and listen to the album here. Watch the album trailer here.

Visit www.oasisinet.com for details and follow #TheMasterplan25

SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM TO BE RELEASED ON 16^TH JUNE 2023

PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE HERE

FEATURING THE NEW TRACK ‘TAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT’

LISTEN HERE / WATCH THE LYRIC VIDEO HERE

A new band featuring Kelly Jones of Stereophonics with Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker from The Wind and The Wave, Far From Saints instantly enamored audiences with their debut track ‘Let’s Turn This Back Around’, which received its first play from Bob Harris at Radio 2 and was named as Jo Whiley’s Infatuation before being added to the Radio 2 playlist. Its impact was reiterated when Far From Saints’ headline show at London’s EartH Theatre on June 5th sold-out within two hours.

After ‘Let’s Turn This Back Around’ established anticipation for more from the band, Far From Saints can now confirm that their self-titled debut album will be released on 16^th June 2023 available on CD, LP and digital formats  –  pre-order / pre-save HERE. The album is announced alongside the new track ‘Take It Through The Night’.  Listen HERE. Watch the lyric video HERE.

Taking in elements of country, rock, folk, soul, and Americana, Far From Saints’ debut album is an indelible set of ten expertly crafted songs that touch on themes of love, perseverance, self-doubt, and self-healing. It’s a record that, much like the band itself, was created over an unadulterated love of music and collaboration and, as a result, is honest, real, and brimming with integrity. Far From Saints have crafted a record which vibrates with intensity, anchored by Kelly and Patty’s striking and magnetic vocal connection, and further elevated by their songwriting with Dwight.

Patty says, “It’s an album and it’s meant to be listened to from start to finish. That’s what I’d like for people to do. Listen to the whole thing and see it as a complete work on its own.”

In ‘Take It Through The Night’, Patty’s yearning, longing vocal provides echoes of the haunting melody and emotional resonance of Fleetwood Mac, while Kelly and Dwight’s layered wall-of-sound guitars possess both the squalling slide of timeless Southern rock and a lurching intensity which recalls Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’. The song was written and produced by Far From Saints, with mixing courtesy of the Grammy-nominated Al Clay (Blur, Pixies).

Kelly recalls, “Patty wrote the whole ‘Take It Through The Night’ lyric herself. I had a tiny part of a blues riff and Dwight ran away with it and turned the chorus into a bit of an Eagles and Joe Walsh vibe. We were just in full-on guitar mode. We were trying to make an Allman Brothers record with that one.”

Although they had first toured together in 2013, it was in 2019 when the musical magnetism between the three musicians became too strong to ignore when The Wind and The Wave supported Kelly during his solo tour. They started by covering Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty’s ‘Stop Dragging My Heart Around’, which went down a storm each night. In backstage hallways, dressing rooms, and hotels, Kelly, Patty and Dwight went on to trade musical touchstones, talk influences, and harmonise together. Soon, they were writing songs too and committed to working on a project together. They booked two sessions, one at the end of each leg of the tour and completed the album in just nine days.

Far From Saints will make their live debut later this month with a warm-up show at London’s Oslo ahead of Roger Daltrey’s Teenage Cancer Trust gala at the Royal Albert Hall on March 26^th. They will then follow their debut headline show at EartH Theatre on June 5^th by supporting Kings Of Leon at their two headline shows at Wrexham FC on May 27^th and 28^th. The band will then play three outdoor shows as special guests to Paul Weller, as well as Black Deer Festival in Junewith further shows to be announced soon.

Release ‘Burren’ on St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March

PRE-SAVE https://ffm.to/burren

Multi-genre artist East Forest and composer Peter Broderick release their collaborative album Burren on St. Patrick’s Day, 17^th March. Recorded over one week in the magical landscape of the Burren, the album was a truly unique project. The songs on the album ended up being recorded with no pre-planning or pre-rehearsal, and every song appears on the album in the order it was created. The process felt as if the pair had corresponded for years, though they had never met in person — neither of them knew what might come of their collaboration, but as soon as they played the first notes, they felt an immediate musical kinship. 

East Forest (Krishna-Trevor Oswalt) is an American multi-genre artist, producer and psychedelic ceremony guide, currently living in his adopted home in the wilds of Southern Utah. Creating electro-acoustic dreamscapes influenced by classical, electronic and avant-pop backgrounds, his immersive live looping sessions span a range that leads people from deep introspection to sweaty dance floors. To date he has released seventeen full length albums and seven EPs, performing at festivals such as SXSW, Lightning in a Bottle, CMJ, Treefort, Arise, and Mysteryland. Perhaps best known for his Music for Mushrooms and Ram Dass albums, his music has been called ‘blissful’ (NPR) and ‘a new genre’ (Billboard).

Peter Broderick is an American musician and composer who grew up in Oregon and currently resides in Ireland. He has released solo material under his own name, been a member of various groups such as Efterklang and Horse Feathers, and played on recordings by M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel, Laura Gibson and many others. He is perhaps best known for his solo piano piece ‘Eyes Closed and Traveling’ which has 47M streams on Spotify.

And now these two iconoclasts have teamed up for a truly unforgettable collaboration. They explain, ‘Having never met in person before, we had only one precondition: no musical plan and to be fully open to the ancient rocky hillside landscape in County Clare known as the Burren.’

The first two singles reveal how much these two artists are impacted by the sublime natural world and their immediate surroundings. On ‘Resurrect Inside’, the pitter-patter percussion is reminiscent of both rain and animals that may be trotting by, giving it a driving yet melancholic feel. ‘The Barren Burren’ is more contemplative and ethereal, described by Peter as ‘…a patient and drawn out ambient folk song.’

With the full-length album comes the song ‘Landscape.’ East Forest worked meticulously on the timbre and production of all the various acoustic elements in the song, while Broderick wrote a poem based on their conversations the night before. The poem was then read by East Forest’s partner Radha, who was also present during this week of creativity.

It seems appropriate that an album inspired by and created in such an iconic Irish landscape is released on St. Patrick’s Day. With its lush musical soundscapes and magical pastoral feel, Burren is bound to be a collaboration for the ages.

The Coronas rocked ‘one of the best parties in LA’ at the annual Oscar Wilde Awards last night

The Coronas entertained a star-studded audience at Oscar Wilde Awards last night. The annual pre-Oscar event that Stephen Spielberg has called “one of the best parties in LA”, is hosted in Bad Robot Studios, Santa Monica production company of J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath. The ceremony celebrates the Irish contribution to the entertainment industry and last night they honoured Tipperary actress Kerry Condon, Killarney actress Jessie Buckley along with Eve Hewson who received the Wilde Card Award. Trina Vargo, president of the US-Ireland Alliance, noted that “the Wilde Card has been used to bring attention to rising talent who may not yet be a household name, but who we expect will be.” The first such award was presented in 2010 to a young Saoirse Ronan.

The Coronas were delighted to play to such a prestigious and talented audience.  Danny says “We feel so lucky and proud to play at the Oscar Wilde Awards this year. Especially with the excitement and anticipation around the Irish at the Oscars this Sunday. It’s an incredible time for Irish cinema and the arts and we’re just buzzing to tag along for the celebrations! 

The 95^th Academy Awards have particular importance for the Irish this year with 14 Oscar nominations including a first-ever nomination for a movie in the Irish Language for ‘An Cailín Ciúin’. The Banshees of Inisherin is up for nine awards, while Aftersun has earned Kildare-born actor Paul Mescal his first Best Actor nomination.

Gracing the green carpet were Eve Hewson’s parents Bono & Ali, Jamie & Damian Harris, Samantha Mumba, Fionnghuala “Fig” O’Reilly, Rea Seehorn, Charlie Hunnam, Sarah Polley, Frankie Shaw, Sarah Bolger, Colm Bairéad and the cast of An Cailín Ciúin, cast of The Irish Goodbye, Katie McGrath & JJ. Abrams and Minister Catherine Martin.

The Coronas released their 7th album Time Stopped last October which went straight to No.1 on The Irish Album charts.  A hat trick – The Coronas are the first and only self-released Irish band in history to have a third consecutive No. 1. The band have sold in excess of 150K albums which equates to 15 x platinum sales!

Recorded in Camden Studios Dublin and Eastcote Studios in London and produced by George Murphy (Mumford & Sons, The Specials, Ellie Goulding) and mixed by Grammy award-winning Peter Katis (The National), Time Stopped also features many of The Coronas’ long-time collaborators and friends including Lar Kaye, Roisin O, Cian MacSweeney, and John Broe.

After selling out five nights in 3Olymia in December they’re back playing outdoor festivals this summer;

UPCOMING LIVE DATES

17 June                 Fairview Park, Dublin 

18 June                 Sea Sessions, Donegal

8 July                     TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow

4 August               Indiependance, Cork

25 August            CHSQ, Belfast

Joseph Chester isn’t one to stay in a comfort zone. In 2020, his sixth album, Jupiter’s Wife, was heralded as one of the best Irish albums of the decade. We don’t need to dwell upon what happened next. As we retreated into our own little empires, he took on an audacious task: to compose a suite of music for guitar and strings about the secret life of Lucia Joyce.

Lucia Joyce was the misunderstood daughter of James Joyce. She has been shamefully side-lined in literary history, cruelly excluded from wider recognition thanks to a combination of sexism, ignorance, and stigmas over mental health. After recording a double album of love songs, Joseph fancied a fresh challenge.

“I was beginning to feel a little burnt out in terms of song-writing, so I wanted to give that part of my brain a bit of a rest,” he explains. “I thought it would be great to create a story on an instrumental record without words, but I had no idea how.”

While casting around for ideas, Joseph stumbled upon an illuminating Lyric FM documentary entitled Dancing with Lucia by Deirdre Mulrooney. “It really resonated with me,” he recalls. “I listened to it a few times. I knew there was a story to be told, but I wasn’t sure how. It was only after I started digging around that it began to take shape.”

Before researching and composing Lucia, Chester knew little about the author’s daughter. “Lucia was born in 1907 and spent 47 years of her life in mental institutions,” Joseph reveals. “She was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1932 and died in Northampton in 1982. After she died, her nephew, Stephen Joyce, destroyed all her writing and papers, including all her correspondence with Samuel Beckett and three books she had written. He attempted to erase this woman, who had been hidden away and silenced in life. I became convinced that I had to try to tell her story.”

Joseph created a suite of music by composing pieces based around key milestones in Lucia’s life. “I limited myself to eleven verifiable facts and tried to allow her to speak through those events,” he says. “They were important banner moments. For example, in the 1920s she became a dancer. The silent film maker John Renoir cast her to perform as a toy soldier in The Little Match Girl, so I wrote a piece about that.” Coincidentally Lucia’s dancing earned her a glowing endorsement from the Paris Times: “When she reaches her full capacity for rhythmic dancing, James Joyce may yet be known as his daughter’s father.”

Lucia became romantically involved with Samuel Beckett. During his investigations, Chester unearthed all sorts of half-truths, outright lies, and contradictions. “Her story is an exercise in separating fact from fiction.” Joseph says. “When I first started researching, Beckett didn’t come across particularly well in terms of how he treated Lucia. The basic story goes that they had a love affair, which Beckett ended. Some people speculate that this is when she started to have problems and become self-destructive. However, I found out that when James Joyce’s wife, Nora, started to complain about the cost of Lucia’s healthcare, Samuel Beckett donated his share of the royalties of an essay on Finnegan’s Wake to cover the costs of her medical bills. When Beckett died in 1989, a picture of Lucia was found when they cleared out his desk.”

During the centenary year of the publication of Ulysses, Joseph Chester’s Lucia premiered on Bloomsday, June 16h, 2022, at the Axis Art and Community Centre, Ballymun, performed by a group featuring Chester, Trevor Hutchinson, Kenneth Rice, Vyvienne Long, and Steve Wickham. “What I really liked about this year’s Bloomsday is that there was much more conversation and celebration of different aspects of James Joyce’s family, which is great,” Chester adds. “It can’t be all about him.”

In 2021, Chester’s Carolan/Cage EP scored an international number one on the Bandcamp Contemporary Classical chart, which comprised of guitar transcriptions of music by the Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan and the American composer John Cage. “I’ve never played classical guitar in my life, so just from that point of view it was a huge education,” Joe says. “I wrote Lucia but I’m still figuring out how to play it.”. I never had a guitar teacher, so how I played the guitar in some ways was quite simply wrong. I ended up with a lot of physical pain from bad technique that I had to correct. There are physical, mental and emotional challenges in confronting mental illness. Everybody has some form or aspect of mental illness in their lives, but we don’t like talking about it.”

Joseph considers Lucia to be one of the most fulfilling projects he has ever done. “This was a wonderfully rewarding experience and I’ve loved every minute of it,” he enthuses. “Lucia continues to challenge and reward me. Doing all the research and reading, discovering all about this amazing person, making music that is completely new to me. It has been a real voyage of discovery.”

He hopes Lucia will help preserve and perpetuate her memory. “I think that it can sometimes be easier to tell a story when there aren’t any words and you’re not being prescriptive,” he says. “Obviously, everyone’s reaction will differ, but my hope is that it could in some fantastical way give back her voice and allow Lucia to breathe again.”

Pre-order album Lucia https://lnk.fu.ga/josephchester_lucia