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.
Also quietly becoming massive in the United States and coming to a Bell X1 gig near you is Jose Gonzales, whose track ‘Heartbeats’ featured strongly in many end of year polls. His album Veneer is also gaining momentum and I’m certain we’ll see him back here for a headline gig in the not too distant future.
In an equally quirky pairing another iconic Dublin act, Lir are having Damien Dempsey as a special guest at their Vicar St. show on January 15th. Given the momentum that Damien Dempsey’s career has picked up since the release of the excellent Shots it serves to throw into relief the enormous respect and affection in which Lir are held that he would play a support slot.
In a gig that gets the first 2006 ‘Amazing Bang for Your Buck’ award you get Lir, Mr. Dempsey and the irrepressible Republic of Loose all on the same bill.
Barry’s of Grange, in Co. Sligo is one of those great venues where the unassuming Colin Gillen makes sure there are always musicians worth hearing on the bill.
His skills at attracting great acts to this out of the way spot were rewarded when the venues shows took four of the top five spots in the Sligo Weekender’s ‘gigs of the year’ list and after having hosted some great shows over Christmas and the New Year it’s straight back into the swing of it with Buddy Merriam and Back Roads on January 14th.
Merriam is a protégé of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe who has helped and guided him personally for years and he is well on his way to becoming a seminal force on bluegrass himself. The show starts later than usual, at 10pm.
Having championed local blues musicians throughout 2005, Derek Turner of the Spirit Store seems to be turning his attention to traditional music this year and the Dundalk venue is hosting a regular Sunday session in the early evenings with tunes and songs from Philip Hickey on accordion, Aine McGeeney on fiddle and vocals and Henry McDonald on guitar and vocals.
Notoriously difficult to crack, Dundalk audiences nevertheless seem to have succumbed to the charms of John Spillane – well who wouldn’t – and he is fast becoming a Spirit Store favourite.
He returns there for a show on January 21st which will surely see him woo the crowd all over again with classic songs like ‘Dunnes Stores Girl’, ‘The Only One For Me’ and ‘Will We Be Brilliant Or What’.
The Spirit Store press release says ‘John is songwriter of genuinely exceptional talent’, which is akin to saying George Best played a bit of football. He’s a great songwriter, brilliant performer, consummate entertainer and a maverick genius. Definitely one not to miss.
Also warming up the Dundalk nights MTV favourite, Marc Carroll visits the Spirit Store with his Gram Parsons-tinged songs on January 26th.
The long awaited Dervish songbook has finally been published by the US’s largest publisher of music books, Hal Leonard Corporation and it will be getting a formal launch at the NAMM music conference in New York later this month. It’s a good looking publication and very clearly notated so musicians striving to learn the bands arrangements should find it a great help.
It makes a selection from right throughout the band’s career, which now reaches back 15 years and each song features a little background on its history.
It does concentrate exclusively on the songs and leaves the way open for a companion volume on the tunes in just the way that last year’s songs compilation for the band ‘A Healing Heart’ leaves the way open for a high octane album of instrumentals to sit alongside it on your CD shelves.
Over in Glasgow a strong cast of Irish musicians will form the backbone of the performers for the 7th Jimmy McHugh Memorial Concert on January 14th at the Woodside Halls.
The Irish contingent making the trip is headed up by Louth fiddler Gerry O’Connor who will be joined on the expedition by Jimmy McGreevy on accordion, Marian Egan on whistle, Micheal Harty on flute and Verena Commins on piano, while the Scots will be represented by singer Flora Mac Neill.
Once more the cream of Irish traditional music will be travelling to Glasgow from all over the UK and Ireland to pay tribute the late fiddler and composer Jimmy McHugh.
Also happening in Scotland this month is the launch of Dougie MacLean’s new album Inside the Thunder. His innovative work has created a modern interpretation of this music but its fundamental value remains rooted in the ancient Scottish culture.