Entertainment
Gig to launch debut album from talented trio The Whileaways
Get three gifted vocalists singing in harmony and you have The Whileaways, who launch their self-titled debut album in Róisín Dubh this Sunday, May 19. The band is made up Noriana Kennedy, Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell, who joined forces when Noriana was looking for musicians to join her on a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
“I was promoting Ebb ‘n’ Flow, my solo CD,” Noriana says. “Nic and Noelie are good friends and great musicians. We hadn’t formally played together but we had played in sessions around Galway. “I booked flights and we all went out there. Really, that’s where it started. The music clicked. Nic sang a few songs, Noelie sang a few, and it emerged that it wasn’t just a thing of my own. So we decided to form a band, a collaboration really.
“After four months touring in New Zealand and Australia we pit-stopped in Japan. We had a lot of Saki drank! We wanted to keep the band going, there was something special there. And the vibe onstage is great, how we work together.”
The word about the newly formed trio spread among folk promoters, and The Whileaways were offered another tour abroad. That offer set the wheels in motion for their debut album.
“During the time in Australia, we got asked to do a tour in Germany,” says Noriana. “A promoter from there saw we were playing as a trio and invited us to Germany. Once that tour was booked, we knew we had to have a CD prepared for it. It gave us a deadline to get the material together, to write the songs and record.”
To make the album,The Whileaways took a road less travelled. Rather than going to a regular studio, the trio went to the home of their friends Larry and Olivia, who live in a log cabin just outside Tuam.
“We spent three weekends there,” Noriana says. “Another mate of Noelie’s, who’s an engineer, brought his gear down and basically converted the living room into a recording studio, and one of the side offices into a control room. We took over, and Larry would cook us dinner in between takes!”
The romantic notion of recording in a log cabin translates into a warmth that runs through the whole album. Being in a friend’s house also added a relaxed atmosphere to the making of the record.
“It helped the whole music to flow, and we enjoyed the process, which I think is key,” says Noriana. “I’ve come out of studios and not enjoyed it, which is reflected in the music. I think the good vibes of the experience are in the CD.”
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
CITY TRIBUNE
Folk duo launch What Will Be Will Be
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.
CITY TRIBUNE
All roads lead to Dunmore as town tunes up County Fleadh
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.
CITY TRIBUNE
Piano concert rescheduled for Tuesday
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.