My Fellow Sponges for Jigsaw fundraising gig

Raising funds for the youth support group Jigsaw, My Fellow Sponges will bring their theatrical, musical magic to the Róisín Dubh on next Friday, August 28. The band are Anna Mullarkey (vocals, piano, synths, harmonium, ukulele), Donal McConnon (vocals, banjo, clarinet, harmonica, guitar), David Shaughnessy (drums), Sam Wright (bass) Elve Carrol (vocals) and Sam Wright (bass).

It’s been a busy festival season for the Sponges, with the band playing sets in Inisbofin and at the Body & Soul Festival in Westmeath.

“Bofin for me was the high point of my career!” Anna says. “At Body & Soul, Sam, myself and Dave were playing with [Galway Ska band] Big Jelly as well, so it was a bit like ‘what’s going on?’ But the Sponges had a lovely crowd who were very into it, singing along.”

Anna is glad to be playing a fundraiser for Jigsaw, a group that’s very close to her heart.

“I’ve a degree in psychology and I volunteered for Jigsaw for a year, doing a programme called Creative Growth with my colleague Vinny,” she says. “It was a creative project, doing things like creative writing but all centred around mental health themes.

“We’ll be releasing a single alongside this fundraiser called Air,” she adds. “It’s a track about how all our troubles are generally just in the air, and most of the time we get caught up with stuff when actually it’s just grand. I wanted to tie that in with the fundraiser.”

On the day of the interview, Anna is on the way to mix the song. It’s a technical part of the recording process that can drive some musicians demented. How does Anna feel about it?

“Perfection is hard to not to want,” she says. “Today is the deadline. It was meant to be last month. But you do the vocals and then you decide ‘I have to do them again.’ But I think it’s one of the most interesting sides of music. I love it.”