It’s friday!
Lisa Lambe reveals why Tradfest 2020 is one of her highlights
WITH the likes of Lankum and The Gloaming bringing their own style to traditional music, the playing and composing styles of our ancestors are enjoying somewhat of a renaissance. Far from being music to be shunned by a younger generation, more and more acts are fusing trad and folk to breathe new life back into the genre.
Which is why this year’s Tradfest showcases the cream of both Irish and international trad and folk artists, as well as providing a stage to promote the next generation of Irish musicianship.
Taking place across a number of venues in Dublin, Tradfest 2020 kicks off on January 22 for a five-day celebration of traditional and folk music from Ireland and across the world.
As well as top class musicians across some of the Capital’s most stunning venues, from the atmospheric Kilmainham Gaol to the grandeur of City Hall, the festival will also incorporate a taste trail, exhibitions, film-screenings, workshops, masterclasses, children and family concerts and much more.
Singer and actor Lisa Lambe will be returning to the festival on January 24 to showcase some of her new material from her forthcoming album Juniper.
‘I’m doing a headline show in the beautiful Pepper Canister church and I am playing with a full band,’ she explains.
‘I have seven amazing musicians who are joining me for the night. I am going to sing some of the new songs from my album which is coming out in April.
‘I will be stepping into the New Year with this album coming to life and Tradfest is such an amazing festival to be a part of. I played it two years ago and I am thrilled to be coming back to it now.’
Lisa’s new album Juniper is the follow up to her debut solo release Hiding Away and like her first, has been inspired by the landscape where she wrote it. But while Hiding Away was crafted in Nashville, Juniper is very much centred in Ireland, written in Roundstone and recorded in Donegal.
‘My music is a folk sound but I am using a template of trad within the show. A lot of the players I work with are from a trad background and I love getting the chance to fuse my singing voice with that background too,’ Lisa says.
‘That is the beauty of the festival it allows you to collaborate and make something that’s your sound. I am going to play a mixture of songs from my first album which I recorded in Nashville. I am going to sing some trad songs on the night but mainly the folk songs I recorded for Juniper the new album which I wrote in Roundstone.
‘Lyrically it has come from the landscape and spending a lot of time there The title if the album has come from a tree which I used to drive past and walk past. It was on this really wild bog road between Roundstone and Clifden and I used to stop and admire it. I wrote a song based on the landscape there and the tree.
‘But really why I called the album Juniper is that it expressed a sense of the place where I was. I feel with albums and projects they are like landmarks for yourself.
‘My first album is very much American sounds and based in Nashville which is where I recorded it. And this one is a continuation of me and my voice but it has a sense of place about it again. It’s about the wilderness, the open dark starry skies, the endless bog roads and your sense of self in that environment.’
Lisa is also a successful actress and was a member of Celtic Woman for a number of years, before embarking on her solo career.
‘Celtic Woman was a hugely important period of time for me because it introduced me to a wider audience over in the States mainly, and all over the world. Those people who I met along the way have continued to support me and my music. It is wonderful that when you go to the States now as a solo artist you have a group of wonderful and loyal followers. It is different as you are much more part of a performing show. As a solo artist there’s a lot more walking the plank as you are it on the stage so you are creating a narrative with the audience every night. Where I am now is because of where I’ve been and every journey along the way - be it music or theatre has brought me to where I am.’ For Lisa, music is in her DNA, just as it is part of our cultural landscape and heritage. ‘I always have this hunger to create and main music and ongoing journey. I have been singing since I was small so I think it is just part of me and my own identity and my own sense of self it’s what brings me back to myself all the time so no matter where you travel you have this continuous thing you can do hopefully for a very long time.’
Lisa Lambe plays the Pepper Canister Church, Dublin on January 24 but she’s not the only act to see. Here’s our pick of the highlights:
JANUARY 22 AOIFE SCOTT.
Her album Homebird has already been made RTE Radio One’s Album of the Week. And Aoife Scott is following her family tradition as a niece of Mary Black and cousin of Róisín O and Coronas frontman Danny O’Reilly, whom she teamed up with for that stunning version of Grace which hit the number one slot on iTunes a while back. She also managed to knock Ed Shearan from the top of the charts with her track All Along the Wild Atlantic Way. Homebird is a beautiful album, displaying Aoife’s writing talents and mesmerising voice in equal measure and as part of Tradfest, it’s getting its official launch with a gig in the Button Factory at 8pm. Tickets are €19.99.
CATHERINE MCEVOY.
Brought up by Roscommon-born parents in Birmingham, Catherine McEvoy had an early love for traditional music, first learning the accordion before moving onto the instrument that she has become best known for. As one of the most respected traditional flautists of her generation, it’s no wonder that she soon made Ireland her home.
She will be in concert at City Hall alongside multiple All-Ireland winners Pádraig Rynne and Tara Breen at 7.30pm. Tickets are €24.99
HOTHOUSE FLOWERS.
Their blend of folk, pop and traditional made HotHouse Flowers famous and they will be joined at the Olympia by Jon Boden and Donegal’s band of sisters the Screaming Orphans. From 7pm, tickets from €36.99.
SÁRÁN MULLIGAN.
Dundalk composer and musician Sárán uses his Leitrim roots to make the concertina sound magical. A special show to bring joy to your lunchtime. City Hall, Doors 12.30pm / Show 1pm, tickets €9.99.
JANUARY 23 THE DUBLIN SESSION.
Daoirí Farrell leads a Dublin Session at Dublin Castle, jam-packed with talented musicians including Sean Keane, Cathy Davey, Caoimhe Hogarty plus Kevin Glackin, Robbie Walsh, Paddy Kiernan, and Sean Potts. 8pm, tickets €36.99.
SETH LAKEMAN.
Younger brother of Sam Lakeman and brother-in-law of Cara Dillon, Seth has accompanied many musical giants including Tori Amos, Clannad and Billy Bragg.
His sound is a no-nonsense, organic, classic folk-rock approach with Lakeman’s trademark footstomping, fiddle bow-shredding and soaring vocals. Button Factory, Doors 8pm tickets €24.99)
SEAMUS BEGLEY, OISIN MACDIARMADA AND SAMANTHA HARVEY.
Accordionist and singer Séamus has recently joined forces with Sligo fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada and Californian dancer and pianist Samantha Harvey to make for a powerful performance.
They will be joined by critically acclaimed Brona McVittie. City Hall, 7.30pm, tickets €24.99.
SIBÉAL NÍ CHASAIDE.
Sibéal has a mastery of the sean-nós tradition marks her out as a unique talent, with a remarkable versatility in capturing mood and tonal quality. She will be joined on the night by the The DkIT Ensemble. Pepper Canister Church, 7.30pm, €19.99.
JANUARY 24 LAST NIGHT’S FUN.
The Belfast poet and musician Ciaran Carson sadly passed away in October 2019. His novel, Last Night’s Fun, is an almost Joycean trip through music and musicians and life. Borrowing the title of that tune and book for this evening’s performance, actor Stephen Rea and musicians Matt Molloy and Neil Martin have drawn from his musings, both poetry and prose, and will through words and music celebrate a life well-lived. Kilmainham Courthouse, Kilmainham Gaol, 6pm, €25.99.
DAMIEN O’KANE AND RON BLOCK.
It’s duelling banjos as Coleraine-born O’Kane brings the tenor Irish banjo to battle it out with Block’s American bluegrass. It’s the first time these two exceptional talents have teamed up. Lost Lane, 8pm, €24.99.
DOIREANN GLACKIN AND SARAH FLYNN.
These two grew up together in the Northside of Dublin and so their music is rooted in the social history of Dublin and the traditional style that is unique to the city. City Hall, 12.30pm, €9.99
STOCKTON’S WING.
One of the acts responsible for modernising the Irish folk sound, the band blend the traditional with the contemporary to create something special. And there’s a starstudded line-up of special guests joining them on the night including Maurice Lennon, Ralph McTell, The Henry Girls, Leslie Dowdall, Tara Breen, Gavin Glass, Phelim Drew and many more. Dublin Castle, from 8pm, €36.99.
JANUARY 25 BARBARA DICKSON.
A special acoustic show from the Scottish singing legend and her pianist Nick Holland, exploring her vast catalogue of songs in the intimate setting of the Pepper Canister Church. 8pm, €34.99
CUA.
John Davidson, Shane Booth & Ros O’Meara bring together guitars, fiddle, bouzouki, percussion and three-part harmony arrangements to create a world music folk sound that the group call ‘Atlantean’. Pepper Canister Church, Doors 2.30pm, €14.99.
KEVIN BURKE.
Recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA in the US, and Ireland’s prestigious Gradam Ceoil award, fiddle legend Kevin Burke is considered one of Irish music’s luminaries and a master of his instrument. Pepper Canister Church, 11.30am, €14.99.
MÍCHEÁL Ó RAGHALLAIGH.
One of the foremost concertina players of his generation, Micheal is not only a leading member of the band Providence, he has also released two solo albums and is a member of the Naomh Padraig Céilí Band with his brother Macdara and sisters Aine and Nora. As a concertina teacher, Mícheál is in demand both at home and abroad. Rathfarnham Castle, 3.30pm, €14.99.
SONGS OF LONGING: SEAN NÓS WORKSHOP.
Join talented young singer Oonagh Mc Ardle for a workshop which explores the art of Sean-nós. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, 2pm, tickets €10.
CHERISH THE LADIES.
The
worldfamous Grammynominated Irish-American supergroup formed in New York City in 1985 to celebrate the rise of women in what had been a maledominated Irish music scene. And they are still going strong. They will be joined by The Shandrum Céilí Band, one of only a handful of céilí bands in the long history of the coveted Senior Ceilí Band Competition to achieve the elusive “three-in-arow” and Lau, traditional music’s most celebrated innovators, strip away their banks of electronics, loops and wild effects for a fully acoustic show. Dublin Castle, 8pm, tickets €42.99.
TURIN BRAKES .
Indie folksters Turin Brakes have sold over one million records worldwide, blending acoustic folk sounds with electric guitars. They are joined by Sound of the Siren. Lost Lane, 8pm tickets €21.99
COMHALTAS NATIONAL FOLK ORCHESTRA
Join the Comhaltas Folk Orchestra of Ireland and special guests for a fitting and unique tribute to some of the seminal moments of Kilmainham Gaol’s history. Kilmainham Gaol, 4pm, €24.99.
GIVE TRAD A TRY.
Have a go at playing traditional music on one of a range of instruments at our popular drop-in sessions for beginners. The Ark, 11am-1pm, free.
JANUARY 26 AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM.
Formed in 1995, there seems to be no stopping this band who blend traditional African and Irish sounds. Afro Celt Sound System have forged a reputation for energetic and uplifting shows. Skipinnish are without a doubt one of Scotland’s most exciting exports, with a strong mix of powerful bagpipe, fiddle and accordion led tune sets, they encompass the very best of traditional and contemporary Scottish music. Likewise, Peatbog Faeries have created a glorious mixture of traditional sounds and dance-floor grooves that have been embraced worldwide. Olympia Theatre, 7pm, tickets from €27.99.
MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY.
Actress and singer Maria Doyle Kennedy is an exceptional talent and will be bringing music from her long and varied career to the intimate surroundings of the Pepper Canister Church. 7.30pm tickets €24.99
DELLA MAE.
This all-female string band is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Celia Woodsmith, two-time champion fiddle player Kimber Ludiker, and mandolinist Jenni Lyn Gardner. They are acclaimed across America as some of the finest players in bluegrass, Americana and beyond. They will be performing songs from their latest album Headlight. Lost Lane, 8pm, €19.99.
CHILDREN’S OPEN TRAD SESSIONS.
If you have a child aged six or over who plays and instrument, this is the chance to get them playing in a real trad session. The session is not suitable for beginners, but it is recommended for children who have been learning music for one year or more. And best of all, it’s free. The Ark, 12.30pm – 2pm.