One of Ireland's most groundbreaking live shows just got bigger, with the addition of legendary Irish vocalist Moya Brennan and spoken word artist Stephen James Smith. The pair are set to accompany genre-warping artists Ryan Vail and Elma Orkestra at The Workman's Club in Dublin on Thursday, June 27 and The MAC in Belfast on Friday, June 28.

The gigs are part of Elma Orkestra (aka Eoin O'Callaghan) and Ryan Vail's Borders tour, in support of their new collaborative album of the same name, released on June 14.

"The album was written with the mindset that we were scoring the border between the North and South of Ireland," reveals Vail. "While performing the album live, the audience will see a visual journey across various parts of the border."

Both experienced artists in their own right, Moya Brennan and Stephen James Smith bring their own nuance and flavour to the live set of Vail and O’Callaghan. An Emmy award-winning performer and a founding member of iconic Celtic music act Clannad, Brennan is widely regarded as one of the most influential singers in Irish history.

Smith, meanwhile, has made a name for himself for his role in modernising the art of spoken word and Irish poetry. A world-renowned performer, he has worked with the likes of Conor O’Brien (Villagers), Glen Hansard, Shane McGowan and Roddy Doyle.

Brennan and Smith both joined Elma Orkestra and Ryan Vail on stage for an incendiary show at Other Voices in the Duncairn Centre, Belfast, last Saturday.

Tickets for the Dublin and Belfast gigs are on sale now.

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