Entertainment
No time to sleep as singer Niall lives the dream
Niall Connolly celebrates the launch of Sound, his sixth studio album, with a show at The Crane Bar on Sunday, April 21. The Cork-born, New York-based songwriter recorded the album in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with his bass player Brandon Wilde taking on production duties.
“I deliberately took my time with it,” says Niall. “I wasn’t feeling under pressure with it timewise. All told, we probably started it a year ago. We were gigging the whole time as well, figuring out the songs in a live context and then being able to arrange them slowly and precisely in the studio as well. Which has not always been the case!
“I did a real sparse acoustic album with Brandon in 2011 that I recorded in three days,” Niall continues. “The album before that, in 2010, was done in very tiny studio, a lo-fi recording. I like these albums but they were done with constraints of time and recording equipment. I wanted to go back to doing a more full band production.”
One of the standout tracks on Sound is Lily of the Mohawks, which was inspired by a late-night stroll that took Niall past St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. On that quiet street, an engraving of Lily of the Mohawks captured his eye.
“I went home and did some research in my vast encyclopaedia – Google!” Niall says. “I found out that she was the first of the Mohawk family to be beatified by the Church. Surely the contrast of the Mohawk and the Catholic tradition couldn’t be any different?
“So I started thinking about the contrast of that, and also the Irish connection in St Patrick’s Cathedral. It made me think of the dream of the Celtic Tiger and the reality of it; the failed promise in both. So I wrote about 118 verses and I picked my favourite four!”
Niall Connolly lives in Brooklyn, which is seen as something of a creative hub. Being based in New York certainly has its upsides, he says.
“I love it – it’s great for music. Officially, there are eight million people in New York. The sheer population allows me to play all the time, reach a new audience, and go back to the same bed! Whereas when I was at home, you had to be touring all the time. I mean, I enjoy touring but I enjoy it more when I don’t have to do it!
“The other thing is the number of fantastic musicians,” he adds. “There are brilliant musicians at home of course, but people come here to try and achieve some sort of career. I know for some people it ends up being Plan B or C and they’re doing a load of other jobs, but the fact of the matter is there are world-class bass, players, drummers and guitar players here.”
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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