Entertainment
Liam Ó Maonlaí’s Rian band for concert series
The popular trad music series, Tunes in the Church, which takes place in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway City, has returned for summer. A highlight for next week is Liam Ó Maonlaí and his band who are coming fresh from Sadler’s Wells dance venue in London where they were playing for the show, Rian. This collaboration between Liam and Longford based Fabulous Beast Dance Company.
Rian is an award-winning show, based on Liam’s first album, and features an amalgamation of traditional Irish music with contemporary dance.
Michael Keegan Dolan is the director and choreographer of the piece which has travelled to venues in New York, Singapore, Sydney, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. The music in Rian received a prestigious Bessie Award nomination in New York last winter.
The band for Rian consists of Liam O Maonlaí on vocals, piano, bodhrán and whistle, Eithne Ní Chatháin on fiddle and vocals, Maitiú Ó Casaide on uilleann pipes, Peter O’Toole on vocals and bouzouki, and Cormac Begley on concertina, baritone and bass concertina
The band will be playing for three nights at St Nicholas’ Church next week as part of the Tunes in the Church concert series.
These shows take place on the usual Monday and Wednesday nights and there will be a special concert on Thursday. The concerts will be recorded, and there are plans to release a CD later in the year.
Limited seating available for these concert and tickets will be available at the door from 7.30pm on each of the nights.
Meanwhile, this Friday’s concert will feature singer, flautist and fiddler Aoife Granville, Niall Ó Beaglaoich on accordion and Francis Cunningham on concertina.
And next Friday, June 27, the musicians will include Ciarán Ó Maonaigh on fiddle alongside dancer and concertina player Caitlín Nic Gabhann.
n The Tunes in the Church concerts run from 8 to 9.30pm nightly in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church and more details are available from http://www.tunesinthechurch.com/galway/calendar
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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