Entertainment
Busy Strypes get ready to rock city’s Docks
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
Rock The Docks, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, June 24 and 25, is a new addition to the live music calendar and is being presented by Monroe’s Live.
The Riptide Movement come to town on Friday, while the second night will see the welcome return of The Strypes.
Since bursting out of the blocks in 2013, the young Cavan quartet have been keeping busy. Last August they released their second studio album, Little Victories. They then followed up a few months later with Live in Tokyo, recorded on their third trip to Japan.
“It just came about pretty unintentionally, really,” says drummer Evan Walsh. “The record company in Japan had the notion of recording the gig, and said ‘would ye be up for putting this out in Japan?’ It came out there first, now it’s been released here.”
Evan will turn 20 in October and, as a member of a band which has toured widely, is becoming attuned to life on the road.
“There are pretty distinct differences between audiences in different countries,” he says. “If we were to play in Ireland, you do get the familiarity of a home crowd. People are brilliant here for going crazy at gigs, enjoying themselves. In Japan, it’s much more reserved. People are going crazy, but their whole society is based on politeness. There’s a different vibe altogether.”
At an age when many of their friends will be halfway through degrees or entering the workplace, The Strypes appear to be living the dream. The reality of a being in a band full-time, however, is another story.
“A full-time musician’s life is nothing really like what people imagine,” Evan says. “In the sense that people think that it’s much more laidback and easy-going than it actually is. Nobody’s falling about drunk out of their head, or doing whatever. People think you have much more of a chance to go mad than you actually do. But we try it as ‘no, this is what we want to do’, so we treat it as a job. People expect a certain standard, coming to gigs. They expect a certain level, and you’d like to be able to deliver to that.”
The Strypes 2013 debut showed a distinct early 1960s influence, with a clear nod musically and stylistically to band like the Stones, The Animals and The Who. Little Victories saw them flesh out their sound a bit more, a record with hints of Arctic Monkeys and Elvis Costello.
“I suppose that was an unintentional move,” Evan says. “When we went into the studio and started writing songs, it was affected by our working relationships with the producers. Bradley Spence and Charlie Russell. They were two young fellas who were making their names, really, like us.
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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