The best way to experience acoustic music is up close and personal, and although both Declan Sinnott and Christy Moore have every right to be proud of their double number one, you get the distinct impression from talking to both of them that they would have preferred to record almost anywhere except The Point. While the sheer volume of fans eager to see them riff off each other live makes the large shows an inevitability, they would both much rather be where they can see the whites of your eyes.
That’s exactly what makes a venue such as the Cobblestone such a vibrant place to see a band and it’s what keeps top class musicians from around the globe coming back to the small out of the way room.
This month the Smithfield venue gets out of the trap like a hungry greyhound with Seamus Tansey making the trip from Sligo for a rare Dublin appearance on May 4. Marian Bradfield and special guest Paul Flood are onstage the following evening and Saturday 6 sees the Foghorn String Band deliver some vibrant bluegrass. Gavin Ryan showcases new material from his upcoming debut album Broken Blues on Sunday May 7.
The following weekend is just as loaded with gems. The Mysterious Chords start the weekend early on Thursday 11 while Tom May brings his own brand of Americana through the doors the following evening. Saturday 13 sees Chuck Brodsky take the reins.
In what has to be one of the Cobblestone’s most packed months ever in terms of quality acoustic music Al O’Donnell plays the venue Saturday 20, Niall Connolly’s band are there on Sunday 21 while Seamie O’Dowd will be playing songs from his recent Headful Of Echoes album on Thursday 25. Geoff Muldaur mixes blues, gospel and American roots music the following evening and the ever entrancing Ger Wolfe (minus the Skylarks it would seem on this occasion) serves as a fitting capstone to a great month on Saturday 27. Hats off (again) to Paul Lee. Venue bookers are not ordinarily taken much notice of, but this one should have his own star on the door.
The stock-in-trade of traditional music is the passing down of music from the older generation to the younger one and while we often celebrate the arrival of fresh new talent on the scene, it’s rare enough that we give full credit to previous generations for keeping the fire lit.
The Bealtaine festival is a multi-disciplinary tribute to the vitality of old age and it’s fitting that it has a very strong music component this time round. Highlights of the festival will include the From Hand to Hand concerts, taking place across 11 counties. For younger musicians and audiences, the artistry of the older players remains the source and spirit of the music and the playing styles. This new nationwide event combines well-known younger musicians playing with an older player they admire.
Musicians involved include Joe Ryan (one of the great repositories of the traditional style of his native Clare), in his high ‘70s, who will be joined in Meath by young fiddler and flautist Michelle Foy, while Cork will witness a performance by fiddlers Maurice O’Keeffe (86) and grand-daughter Eibhlin. In Donegal Steve Cooney will join Tommy Peoples and Dermot Byrne for a night to remember.
Almost as long in the tooth are the Battlefield Band. These Scots warriors have now clocked up an awe-inspiring 30 years on the road (starting out at roughly the same time as the Sex Pistols, can you imagine what Messrs. Lydon and co. would be like by now had they toughed it out?).
They have always managed to come up with fresh-sounding and interesting music and The Road of Tears, with it’s themes of immigration and migration, is yet another fine example of their ability to combine great songs and solid instrumentals.
This album also welcomes singer and guitarist Sean O’Donnell to the band.
At the other end of the scale entirely Declan O’ Brien moved to Dublin in 2002 and began working at music full time releasing an EP which sold 2,000 copies at gigs. He then decided to broaden his horizons and made the move overseas to New York in 2004.  
There, O’Brien steadily built a fan base playing legendary venues including The Bitter End and Arlene’s Grocery. He came back to his native Cork last year and began work on his debut album with producer Arthur O’Leary.
In his search for a backing band Declan recruited some of Cork’s best musicians to play their part on the album which has now seen the light of day. Over the last year Declan has toured extensively with Damien Dempsey, John Spillane and Declan O’Rourke and he makes a headline appearance at Dublin’s Bewleys Café Theatre on Saturday 9th when he’ll be dashing back from a Tower records in store performance at 6pm.
As Irish emigrants journeyed overseas, they brought with them the music and song of their ancestors, a vital source of comfort and reference to a culture left behind.
To explore this emotive musical legacy, Music Network has brought together four of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians. Fiddle player extraordinaire Máire Breatnach will be joined by Garry Walsh on flute, melodeon-player Dave Hennessy and the New-York based multi-instrumentalist Dónal Clancy. Combining their rich musical repertoires in ‘Emigrant Music – Lost and Found’, the ensemble can be heard on from May 12 to 21.
Writing about the duo of Liz Carroll and John Doyle the Wall Street Journal said “there is no better tandem in Irish traditional music today.”
The pair have been friends for years and have played together many times at informal sessions, but a few years ago they started working together, appearing on each other’s albums and then touring together.
Their first duet recording, ‘In Play’, documents their musical partnership, grounded in tradition and capable of expanding tradition with fresh ideas and a remarkable musical empathy.
While much of the music-making on it is devoted to the various Irish dances that are typically rapid-fire in their presentation, there are also more subdued airs. The two virtuoso musicians come to the Farnham Arms Hotel, Cavan for a Special NYAH concert on Friday 19 May.
Ceol na Búille takes place in King House, Boyle on Saturday 13 May. Organised by the Flute Players of Roscommon Society, the day will consist of flute beginners workshops, advanced flute and fiddle workshops together with a recital in the evening. 
At the workshop the beginners will have access to flutes from the County Instrument bank and the Flute Players Society’s own bank and have access to master players who can show them techniques on how to sound the flute, give advice on breath techniques and generally encourage the playing of flutes.
Master classes for existing players in both fiddle and flute will be held alongside the beginners’ classes. Eamonn Cotter and John McEvoy will be the tutors.
In the evening a recital in celebration of the flute and fiddle partnership which is so prominent in the North Connaught tradition will be held. It will feature John and Catherine McEvoy as well as Eamonn Cotter and Tony Linnane who are steeped in the Co Clare tradition. Also performing on the night will be the Flute Players of Roscommon themselves.