A ‘supergroup’ of sorts, the Red Hat Band – Deirdre, Diarmaid and Donncha Moynihan from Calico, Brian Finnegan and John Jo Kelly from Flook, Áine Whelan from the Joyful Mysteries, and Noel Barrett from the Sinead Lohan Band – was assembled for two concerts in Cork last February to promote the new Irish independent music website, www.redhatmusic.com.

Whelan and Deirdre Moynihan harmonise together like sisters on songs by Janis Ian, Shawn Colvin and Moynihan herself among others, while the arrangements of the tunes (many of them composed by Diarmaid Moynihan) are varied and never predictable.

As for the sound quality, it’s impeccable, with individual instruments and crowd reaction all perfectly balanced. If there’s a downside, it’s that the amalgamation lacks some of the individuality of either of its two main components (Calico and Flook); but for sheer quality and professionalism, the Red Hat Band is hard to beat.

eight/ten