Harmony reigns as Evertide prepare to play Carrabane’s Village Theatre

BY STEPHEN CORRIGAN

The Evertides, one of Ireland’s newest harmony and folk groups, are set to play to an intimate crowd at Carrabane’s Village Theatre on Saturday, February 27.

The tuneful trio, made up of Portumna native, Ruth Smith, together with her band mates, Ruth McGill, and Alma Kelliher, released their self-titled debut EP on February 1 to a hugely positive reaction. So much so, that the group immediately secured a place on the RTÉ Radio 1 playlist.

This will come as no surprise to fans of the group who will have seen them sell out Whelan’s in Dublin on numerous occasions and followed their rise through the ranks of the Irish music scene.

All three are graduates of music programmes at Trinity College Dublin, but their paths didn’t cross until they met through theatre work. They first performed a rendition of the Harry Belafonte classic Scarlet Ribbons together in 2011.

This was not, however, the beginning of The Evertides as we know them today. The  three continued with their respective careers, ranging from theatre work and music teaching to events co-ordination around the world.

Ruth Smith, who went on to travel the world as a co-ordinator with the Volvo Ocean Race for several years, explained that the three immediately recognised the chemistry between them when they performed together.

Fast forward a year from Ruth’s return home and the group were recording their self-titled EP at Dublin’s Westland Studios.

“You could really get a sense of history in the place; it was where the Corrs recorded their Forgiven, not Forgotten album; there were pictures of Phil Lynott and U2 on the wall. You could get the sense of legacy,” she said.

Despite all being classically trained musicians and singers, their music is very much folk-inspired. As for where this inspiration comes from, Ruth believed it is down to their Irish childhoods.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.