Entertainment
Feast of Americana as Birds of Chicago line out for city show
The Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell
Putting a winning spin on Americana, Bird of Chicago play upstairs in Róisín Dubh this Saturday, April 27.
The collective from the Windy City is fronted by JT Nero and Allison Russell, who will be joined at the gig by Will Waghorn on drums and Joe Faulhaber on guitar. Speaking from England, JT reflects on their first European tour.
“It’s been going great, even better than I expected,” he says. “We had a sold-out show in London last night and the European leg went really well. This is a new project; Birds of Chicago is a new baby, so there’s always a bit of nervousness. We’re really excited at the response.”
How did this new project get off the ground?
“Allison and I went from being mutual fans of each other,” JT says. “Her band, Po Girl, was based out of Vancouver, and my band, JT & the Clouds is based out of Chicago. When they went through our part of the world, we’d put on shows for them and they would do the same for us.
“Then we just started finding more and more excuses to do work together,” he adds. “We would show up on each other’s records. And Po Girl took me as a solo support for them on their European tour in 2007. The more time Allison and I spent together, we knew at some point we wanted to be able to give the thing its own space.”
Birds of Chicago released their self-titled debut album last year. When it came time to clock in on the recording, Allison and JT didn’t have to wander too far.
“We did it in a studio that is literally three blocks from our home in Chicago, in the Humboldt Park neighbourhood,” JT says. “We had done work there before, both JT & the Clouds and Po Girl. It’s very much a second home, a very comfortable situation, which is pretty important when you’re doing studio records.”
Watching clips of Birds of Chicago performing, they certainly seem at ease on stage. Is that something that’s hard to replicate on record?
“I definitely think that’s an ongoing problem for most bands, particularly bands that hone their craft playing live,” JT says.
“You go into the studio and all of a sudden it’s a very different atmosphere; you’re on the clock, with usually a limited amount of money. So you’re very aware how many dollars each screw up costs you! That’s not the most conducive atmosphere to producing a relaxed and joyful album.”
To finance their debut album, Birds of Chicago ran a successful campaign on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter. It’s similar to fundit.ie, the site used by Irish artists to raise finance for projects. Does JT feel these sites are the way of the future for creative types?
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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