Entertainment
Buzzed-up Coronas for Arts Festival concert
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
The Coronas play the Big Top this Saturday, July 25, as part of the closing weekend of this year’s Galway International Arts Festival. It’s been a good year for the quartet, with their UK fan base increasing since the four moved to London two years ago.
“The UK tour went really well, and we played Koko in Camden, which is a great venue,” says lead singer Danny O’Reilly from his new home. “Now we’ve got the next tour in November, and we’re moving up the venues. We’re playing the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
“It’s moving along, we’re getting little bits of radio here and there,” he adds. “We’re getting to play more festivals. And, thankfully, people back home aren’t forgetting about us either. Our songs are still getting played on the radio, and when we come home people are still coming to see us.”
The Corona’s latest release is How This Goes, a UK-only EP that features the fast-rising Hudson Taylor.
“I wrote a couple of songs with Hudson Taylor for their record,” Danny says. “I met them a good few years ago when I first went over to London. They were living here, really nice lads and we got on well.
“The label wanted something that was just a UK exclusive, to get the vibe going here,” he adds. “We’ll release it at home, maybe on a bonus edition of the album, but we thought that song would be nice for an EP. Hudson Taylor were good enough to come down and sing on it. I think it worked out really well.”
The band released The Long Way in May 2014, but a hectic schedule and life with a label means they haven’t had time to start working on the follow-up.
“We’re still very much in promo mode for this album,” Danny says. “We have little bits and bobs for the next one. I’d say, hopefully over the summer we’ll get to work on some new ones and introduce them into the set, but we haven’t thought about the next one yet. Like I said, we’re still stuck in the promo and plan for this album.”
Before The Coronas come to Galway, Kodaline will have played two sold-out shows in the Big Top. Danny is happy that the young band are enjoying success, at home and abroad.
“I’m delighted for them,” he says. “I bumped into them on a flight not so long ago. They’re touring around and doing well in America as well. Really happy for them. They’re great songwriters, a great bunch of lads.
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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