Entertainment
Rusangano family on a roll with unique musical mix
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
One of the most exciting Irish acts to break through this year, the Rusangano Family come to the Róisín Dubh on Thursday, December 8.
The Limerick band released their debut album Let The Dead Bury The Dead earlier this year to rave reviews, and it opened a lot of doors for DJ MyNameIsJohn and MCs Mulri and GodKnows. The trio were invited to play the prestigious music industry showcase South by Southwest, a trip GodKnows says was a highpoint from the last 12 months.
The hip-hop and rap band were playing in the Irish pub BD Riley’s, which had an open window that looked out onto the Austin’s bustling 6th Street.
“We were performing, so people walking past could see us,” says GodKnows. “Outside, there were people who were just going about their day. Inside, there was a load of Irish people. They were serving free Irish breakfasts!”
Emboldened by the performance, GodKnows decided to go from the stage to the street.
“I decided to show the Americans what’s up,” he recalls. “I remember there was one guy with tattoos all over his body. He looked like some real gangster! He was right beside me, and I was scared for my life because I was rapping right in his face. I thought he’s either going to punch me, or he’s going to shake my mind. So he shook my hand – I was very relieved!”
GodKnows also cites the album launch in Cork and the Electric Picnic as other highlights for the band. The rapper is of Zimbabwean decent, John is from Clare and Mulri is Togolese. Rusangano Family are an Irish band with a unique mish-mash, and their live shows are always memorable. Indeed, the journeys to the gigs keep the songs coming.
“You’re in the car, there’s ideas being thrown back and forth,” GodKnows says. “We respond to life. For all of us, it’s natural. Whatever life is throwing at us, we write it down on paper. Or, in John’s case, he makes incredible music on the laptop.”
GodKnows is based in Limerick and works with Music Generation, an initiative that encourages young people to express themselves via music. It’s something he gets a kick out of.
“We basically do workshops in secondary school and also at our creative centre,” he says. “There’s a band called Same Difference, who are incredible, that came through Music Gen and a guy called Jordan DK. We mentor some of these young people, especially when it comes to the rapping. We just give people space to find their artistry. I know what it’s like to have all this music and nowhere to record it. We have the facilities there.”
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.
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