Entertainment
Fiery punk-folk fustion puts Jinx in spotlight
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
With two new albums to draw from, Jinx Lennon brings his fiery punk-folk fusion to Róisín Dubh for a free show on Thursday, November 17.
Magic Bullets of Madness to Uplift the Grief Magnet and Past Pupil Stay Sane see the Dundalk singer more fired-up than ever.
Magic Bullets was recorded in Liverpool with the acclaimed punk band Clinic, and Past Pupil was made with Marc Aubele from Nanu Nanu.
“They’re basically the same batch of songs, they were written around the same time, so I thought the best thing to do, to hell with it, was to bring out two albums,” Jinx says.
Jinx’s ability to distil his take on life into memorable punk vignettes has won him fans like Christy Moore. Yet he remains on the fringes of popularity and his music will still be new to many. Of his two new albums, which one would he steer people to first?
“I think the two complement each other,” he says. “If you were to nail me to the wall, I’d say Past Pupil was the one. That was the one where I started to see the light between the trees, I suppose. I was starting to get my mojo back. It’s a bit more melodious, if you like.”
Since releasing 30 Beacons of Light in 2002, Jinx has toured up and down the country, never compromising on his performance style. He’s performed to packed tents at festivals, and played some less populated rooms, over the years. One of the highlights of Past Pupils is I Know My Town, which sees Jinx assess his career while casting an eye over his native Dundalk.
“It’s to appreciate the fact of where you’re from, you can’t just be piping up that everything’s great,” he says. “It’s taking the good with the bad, and just being proud of what you have. It’s about self-respect, and respect for things around you. The aim is to uplift people, be proud of where you’re from.
“You can walk tall if you want, it’s more like heroism. In my early stuff, there was heroism there. It’s like Braveheart, being like a bit of a superhero. I work in a job where the place is mundane, but when I start singing I put on my Marvel Comics superhero head. I own that, it’s helped me to see a bit of space in front of me.”
Water Meter Man is a song that sees Jinx once again realise his gift of fusing an interest in social issues with a knack for writing a catchy chorus.
“A friend of mine is one of the biggest [anti] austerity men in Dundalk, so I was sort of buzzing off him and what he standing up for. I got involved, and went to a few of the marches and protests.”
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
