Reeling in the years
The most promising acts of the year ahead have been around for a while.
Greg McAteer, 23 Jan 2006
It some point near the end of 2005 it became clear to me that much of the best music being made at the moment is coming from folk who’ve got a few miles on the clock.
As 2006 hauls itself out of bed, looks at its post-Christmas waistline and faces into a new year, this trend has grown increasingly apparent.
Once a fixture on the Irish gigging circuit, Freddie White has been based in the United States for over 10 years now.
It seems that he has lost none of the appeal that made him one of the most consistently successful live attractions in the country.
He returns to Ireland for a Vicar Street date on March 23rd. White has an iconic status that comes from delivering consistently excellent performances.
With a live track record stretching back to the ‘70s – he toured with Eric Clapton in 1978 – his gigs are always worth watching. He has quite a fanbase too. You may well find yourself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Van Morrison at one of his shows, who has been known to catch the odd performance.
White’s last album was 2004’s Four Days In May and material from that set, which saw him teamed up with a bunch of the country’s finest musicians, will doubtless form the heart of the live set.
While we’re on the subject of icons, the Waterboys, surely one of the most popular bands ever to take up squatters rights as an Irish band, take the show on the road at the beginning of March with a short run of dates taking in a pair of shows at Glor in Ennis on March 1st and 2nd, shows at the Olympia in Dublin on March 3rd and 4th and a show in the Theatre Royal, Castlebar on March 5th.
Mike Scott, Waterboy-in chief, will be aided and abetted on this occasion by old partner in crime Steve Wickham and while you may not see Brigadoon it’s a fairly safe bet that you’ll have a great time.
Scott has been co-writing recently with Thea Gilmore, who is currently wowing them in the US, although she hasn’t quite achieved the same stature here. Her new album will feature two co-writes with the Waterboy.
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