Entertainment
Eleanor McEvoy and Freddie White for Pillar House gigs
Singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy will play the Pillar House Folk Club in Ballinasloe this Friday night, April 17, while Cork troubadour Freddie White will play the 80-seater venue on Friday, May 15.
Eleanor McEvoy is one of the country’s best known singers and multi-instrumentalists, whose latest album, Stuff, was released last year, telling stories of unrequited love, lust and eloquent farewells. It was praised for its rich mix of caustic observation laced with wit and wry self-deprecation, delivered in Eleanor’s rich, lilting voice.
Formerly a session musician, Eleanor played for a long period with The National Symphony Orchestra and also worked with The Mary Black Band. It was then she decided she should cash in her savings and develop her own career. That got a kick-start when Eleanor wrote the song that would give a name and title track to the all-woman compilation album, A Woman’s Heart, Ireland’s best selling album. In concert Eleanor sings her own compositions and interprets the work of other songwriters, while playing a variety of instruments to create a memorable experience. Tickets are €20 each.
The Folk Club’s May gig is with Freddie White, a man long associated with music of the highest quality. He has been part of the fabric of Ireland’s live music scene since the 1970s, interpreting songs by his favourite writers, such as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, John Hiatt and Guy Clark, as well as performing his own classy compositions.
Born in Cobh to a musical family, by age 13 Freddie was playing in school bands and turned professional four years later. He then moved to London where he busked in the Underground, developing his voice and guitar style.
In the early 1970s, together with Philip King and Sonny Condell, he was a founding member of Scullion, before going solo with The Freddie White Band, which subsequently toured with Eric Clapton.
His debut album, Live on Tour, brought him to national attention, while his second album released in 1981 was one of the best-selling Irish albums of that year. In 1985 Long Distance Runner was released, featuring his hit single Frozen Heart. Since then he moved to America and, later, Australia, and has continued to release albums and tour. Freddie’s most recent album was co-produced by Freddie and Declan Sinnott who played the Pillar House Folk Club last November.
Tickets have already begun to sell well for Freddie’s concert at the Pillar House on May 15. They also cost €20 per person. All tickets are available by phone on 090 96 43939 / 087 9046140 and you can check out www.thepillarhouse.ie for further details on those and future gigs. Concerts begin at 9pm.
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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