Choice nominee Lisa O’Neill for Galway gig

Lisa O’Neill, whose album, Same Cloth or Not  was nominated for this year’s Choice Music Prize for album of the year, plays the Róisín Dubh on Friday, February 21.

Lisa, who started writing songs and music at an early age in her native Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, moved to Dublin at the age of 18 to study music on a fulltime basis. There she was welcomed into the folk and traditional scene in pubs and venues around the city where her unusual voice, witty lyrics and observations on Irish life saw her grow in popularity. Her independently released debut album was launched in August 2009. The follow-up Same Cloth or Not, followed on Song Seeds Records last October.

The album was recorded in a cottage in Wicklow in the winter months with David Kitt producing and Karl Oldum engineering. It features Stina Sandstrom on vocals, Mossy Nolan on bouzouki  and some wonderful interventions from London-based string duo Geese (Emma Smith and Vincent Sipprell).

Same Cloth or Not cemented Lisa’s reputation as an assured songwriter with a distinctive and haunting voice. Following its release, she hit the road with Glen Hansard in Ireland and then on to the UK with Scottish folk singer James Yorkston.

• Doors for her Galway show are at 9pm, tickets €14/12.