It’s a bit early to be thinking about what you’re doing for the New Year, right? Well maybe, but it’s definitely not too late to be thinking about what you’re going to be doing on December 29th and 30th when, if you have a brain in your head and a heart in your chest, you’ll be at the Point Depot where Christy Moore returns to the stage that spawned the epochal Christy Moore –Live at the Point album exactly a decade ago. A quarter of a million of us bought that album, which cemented the Point’s reputation as a crucial venue. On this occasion Christy will have company as Declan Sinnott, long a favourite collaborator, joins him for the gigs.
First up, though, is Christy’s new studio album Burning Times which is released this month, with the single ‘Sixteen Fishermen Raving’ leading the way. Declan Sinnott is again central to the album, and word from the trenches suggests that this is one of the classic Christy Moore albums in the making.
New singer Nicola Joyce will be making her Irish debut as part of Grada as they stop off on Irish soil for a few dates in the midst of their eternal earth-wandering. October 22nd sees them in the Half Moon Theatre’s Green Room in Cork, and October 25th will find them in Dolans in Limerick. They catch another breath of Irish air in November with a show in Glor in Ennis on November 19th, and a foray up north with a gig in An Creagan Visitor Centre in Creggan, Co. Tyrone on November 25th.
November also sees the Chieftains make an appearance, in what will be a great month for northern-based tradders. Joined by Triona Marshall on harp and Yvonne McMahon on vocals, they will be marking the career of the late Derek Bell at a special concert in Armagh on November 14th to open the 12th William Kennedy Piping Festival, which runs in the city for the week of November 14 – 20.
On the face of it a very specialist affair, but there are a few nuggets in there, including a chance to see what John McSherry is up to now as his new band At First Light will be performing as part of the festival.
Expect to see a new release at some point too from Tina McSherry who has been demoing new material with producer Brian Connor. It’s very tasty stuff, and will no doubt attract record company interest soon enough.
The Castle Inn in Athy is promoting a series of shows under the banner of Red Hot Athy. John Spillane is there on October 13. Personally, I’d happily watch him every night, but in the interests of giving everyone else a fair crack of the whip, I should inform you that the venue is hosting the also unmissable Steve Cooney in concert with Tony McMahon on October 27th.
For more than two centuries, immigrant performers from Ireland have enriched the musical culture of New York City, especially the Bronx, and more than a few New York-born and New York resident performers have enriched the musical culture of Ireland. October 30th sees a concert take place in the Lovinger Theatre in the Bronx, celebrating the vitality and virtuosity of this ongoing cultural exchange through Irish songs, tunes, and dance from some of the Big Apple’s most accomplished and exciting performers today.
The concert will feature Cathie Ryan, formerly known for her work with Cherish The Ladies but increasingly regarded as a solo performer, with her latest album The Farthest Wave sealing the deal. Also featured are Bronx-born fiddler Brian Conway, flying the flag for the Sligo fiddle style in the US; and Brendan Dolan. The concert also features Greg Anderson who has previously performed as part of the Cathie Ryan Band.
Cathie will also be playing a low key show at Dundalk’s Spirit Store on October 13th, and the intimate Dundalk venue will be hosting The Saw Doctors and Dennis Hayes and Martin Cahill (not at the same time, steady yourselves now) during the Tain Festival at the end of the month.
Having gotten back from a third long US tour this year, Dervish will be zipping off to Tenerife for a one-off show at the end of October, giving them that crucial chance to top up their tans before they take their magical mix of folk and trad to the UK during November. Accordionist Shane Mitchell will be breathless by that stage, as he has been instrumental in getting the new Sligo Live festival up and running and won’t rest easy until the October Bank Holiday weekend is past.
The Sligo six-piece are also due to release A Healing Heart, a collection of the ten most contemplative moments from a decade and a half of music making, perfect listening for those cold winter evenings.
The results of Juliet Turner’s two nights at the Spirit Store in August are released as Juliet Turner Live on November 4th on her own Hear This! label. The Spirit Store won’t, of course, be big enough to hold the launch gig, so she’s decamping to Vicar Street for the night of November 16th.
Christie Hennessy, whose new album Stories For Sale is being very well received, is undertaking a very extensive Irish tour throughout November and December, playing just about anywhere there is to play. Although the bulk of the tour will be completed by the start of December, there are two shows in Siamsa Tire, in Tralee, between Christmas and the New Year.
Fans of sean-nos singing should take the opportunity to check out its Portuguese first cousin fado when that musical form’s foremost practicioner Mariza visits Dublin’s Vicar Street on November 13th. Fado’s literal definition is fate, but to the people of Portugal, it carries layers of meaning not found in any dictionary, and within its enigmatic history and hybrid roots resides an understanding of the Portuguese character. Born in Mozambique, but brought up in Lisbon since early childhood, fado was never far away, especially so in her parents’ restaurant in the old suburb of Mouraria. Immersed in the tradition of the fadista, she was surely destined to become one herself, and over three critically acclaimed albums, she has reinvigorated this most passionate of musical genres.
Her latest CD, Transparente, recorded in Rio with feted Brazilian producer Jacques Morelenbaum, captures the soul of fado, yet also renews it, subtly infusing elements of Brazil, Mozambique and Cape Verde. But fado’s haunting melancholia, its intense poetry, minor tonalities and undulating rhythms are always to the fore, providing the perfect foil for that voice, a study in seductive intensity.
If you like your performers diva-style, Mariza is a performer who has it all - glamour, defiance, charisma, arresting looks, a voice to die for, and music that unapologetically deals in passion and drama.
After a sell out week in The Gaiety Theatre Ronnie Drew, Paddy Reilly, Liam Clancy and Finbar Furey (with compere Jim McCann) will play four special Christmas shows in Vicar Street between December 27th and December 30th. With the guts of two centuries’ performance history onstage between them, it’s a sure bet that this will be hard to match for entertainment value.