Sponges to warm up for Picnic set with city gig

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

With a live show that’s imbued with wit, invention and melody, My Fellow Sponges play Róisín Dubh on Friday September 2. Expect to hear a festival-fit set from the Sponges – the morning after this gig, they’ll be hitting the road for Stradbally, where they’ll play two shows at this year’s Electric Picnic.

The band will also be airing some new material in the Róisín, as they are currently working on their second album.

“We’re taking our time, making sure it’s right, and not rushing it,” says Anna Mullarkey, who sings and plays synths, piano, bodhrán and guitar. “I’m working on electronic stuff, which is very slow [to make] – and exciting at the same time!”

“It wouldn’t be just a collection of songs,” says Donal McConnon, who also sings, and brings clarinet, harmonica and banjo to the mix. “There’ll be hopefully something tying them together, a bit of a story arc. We’ll see.”

Since emerging more than five years ago, My Fellow Sponges have become fixtures on the festival scene. This summer has seen them return to Body & Soul, as well as Knockanstockan in Wicklow, which became a three-day event this year.

“I think festivals are food for the soul,” Anna says. “At festivals, people are open to music, it’s not like a regular gig. People are so into it.”

“It’s also very nice to go and play for a national crowd, and to see how we’re doing,” Donal says.

“It’s very good gauge for that. We put out [their last single and video] Cold Hand at the start of the summer, and you might get so many views or whatever, but you don’t really know how it’s affecting people first hand.

“This year, we were very pleasantly surprised with Body & Soul and Knockenstockan,” he adds. “The people who came along were singing along to that song, they were there to see us. That as a lovely boost, but if we don’t go to those festivals, we just don’t know if people are really connecting.”

A Sponges show keeps you on your toes, with their set changing in tempo and mood throughout. This could be down to the band having two songwriters, but bassist Sam Wright and drummer David Shaughnessy can really shape what happens to the songs.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.