According to Greek Mythology, Sirens were alluring and arresting songstrels who lured unsuspecting sailors to their deaths with overpowering music. It’s a fairly apt name, then, for this Lillith-doonvarna evening, which has come into being in light of the commercial success of the Sirens album.
First up to the plate is Margaret Healy, who sets the tone of the night with a folky, introspective set that gives the music presented on her album And You Are…? more immediacy and dimension. Next, Nina Hynes, with her beatbox full of tricks and loops and an arsenal of cute yet rough-round-the-edges tunes, stuns the room into reverend silence with her solo set. Katell Keineg, having blown a gust of hope and honesty into the Irish singer-songwriter scene, demonstrates with her defiant set exactly why she is earmarked for greatness. Nashville’s Amy Rigby, having flown in especially for the event, is clearly taken aback by her appreciative audience…almost as taken aback as we are at her Mae West-like genius and wry, humorous observations.
As the Sirens event is her brainchild, it is, finally, Maria Doyle Kennedy’s night. Not only has she earned her stripes as a consummate performer, but now it seems her event organisational skills are second to none. She delivers a stellar set, topped off by a truly beguiling version of ‘Stars Above’, for which she is joined by her fellow Sirens. Maria implores the audience to join her (hey, it was the least we could do)…and rather touchingly, the audience and the Sirens become one for a truly bewitching moment.
Probably just how the Greeks intended.