Ruby Sessions – The Album is in the shops now with all proceeds going to the Simon Community. Artists featured include Fionn Regan, Babelfish, Margaret Healy, Declan O’Rourke, Keith Moss, Nina Hynes, Neosupervital, Martin Finke, Derrick Devine, Drat, Duke Special, Susan Enan and live video footage from the Ruby Sessions birthday bash last year. A national Ruby Sessions tour is currently doing the rounds boasting Nina Hynes, Susan Enan, Margaret Healy and Derrick Devine.

Ruby Session contributor Neosupervital is busying himself by recording his second release and follow up to the acclaimed mini-album Use What You’ve Got. It will be called Focus and should be available from the end of June. There are also plans to launch a range clobber called Neosuperwear.

A new Dublin independent record label called Mananaan Music Productions has released its first EP called ‘A Starting Breath’ by The Boy from Beirut a.k.a Richie Hearns… Maersk released their ‘First Line’ EP on Compactrisc Records at the last Ballroom of Romance. It is available on 10” vinyl only in all good record shops for around 7 euro. Info at www.compactrisc.net/maersk… Set in Stone release their debut full length album this week with a free gig in Tower Records, Dublin… Dublin four-piece Paper Street Soap Company are set to release their debut 3-track untitled EP. The band are currently writing new material and are scheduled to play an upcoming Ballroom of Romance gig. Available from Road Records for €2. For more info go to www.pssc.cjb.net

Halite, fronted by Graham Hopkins formerly of Therapy? renown, have been added to the bill for Slane. Halite’s first single ‘Underneath the World’ will come out on May 23 and an album entitled Head On will follow on June 13… A new night worth checking on the last Wednesday of every month is Songs from the Parlour in the Parlour Bar, upstairs in the Stag’s Head, Dame Lane. The inaugural line up includes Old Man Polka, The Tycho Brahe, Paul O’Reilly and Donal Rooney.

The debut full-length Stephen Hero album, Darkness and the Day from Sligo resident Patrick Fitzgerald is scheduled for an American release this month. Meanwhile, Stephen’s former band Kitchens of Distinction are getting the retrospective treatment from One Little Indian, home of Bjork, The Shamen etc. Other activities include writing the music for The Druid Theatre (Galway) production of The Good Father which was recently recorded by RTE Radio 1.

Seán Needham is tipped to play Witnness following a brace of successful supports to Tracy Chapman, The Hot House Flowers, Diana Krall and Sophie-Ellis Bextor. In the meantime, he adds Huey Lewis and the News to this illustrious roll call. Seán is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut album. Completing his current band are Karl Downs on drums, Darren Bowler on bass and Esther Kjaer Nielsen on backing vocals. Former Brando vocalist Elton Mullally will be joing him for some support slots.

Boxes from Tullamore (which they call “the Venice of the Midlands”) have finished recording their debut album entitled Big ships in the night, Small boats in the morning with Andrew Lyster of the Asteroids. Those midland merchants are Keith Higgins on vocals and keys (also in Tripplehorn), Fergus Cullen on guitar and keys (also in the Wormholes), Gavin Corcoran on bass and Brian Connolly on percussion. (also in El Diablo). Other album news… Goodtime John will have his second opus on Volta Sounds later this year while Estel release their second album at the end of this month which be called A Guide in a Time of Great Danger.