Top Irish acts lined-up for Fermoy song book session
INTIMATE NIGHT OF SONG AND CHAT AT CHEERS BAR
SOME of Ireland’s most popular singers and musicians will come together on the stage of Cheers Bar next Wednesday evening for what promises to be magical evening of song and banter.
Dreamed up and founded by Cork singer/songwriter Roy Buckley, The Song Collector Sessions is a series of intimate shows that offers audiences a unique insight into the minds and music of some of the country’s top musicians and song collectors.
The sessions give the artists a platform not just to perform but also speak to audiences about their stories behind their songs, their music, influences and recall stories from the road giving fans a rare insight into their creative processes.
The artists that have appeared in the sessions reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Irish industry with people such as Phil Coulter, John Spillane and Leslie Dowdall having performed under its banner.
The line up for next Wednesday night will be: Christy Dignam and Joe Jewell of Aslan, Roy Buckley himself and guitarist Dave Browne with 96Fm’s PJ Coogan MC for the evening.
Established in 2012, the sessions quickly became hugely popular, spreading out from Cork across the country and as far afield as Las Vegas.
Buckley said he created the series celebrate the many “amazing” Irish artists and also to give inspiration to aspiring singers and songwriters.
“For such a small country we have had so many great songwriters with more coming through all the time,” he said.
In keeping with the spirit of the series, some of the biggest names on the Irish music scene will perform and bare their souls during the Fermoy session.
Childhood friends Dignam and Jewell have been touring with their ‘Some Songs and Stories Show’, during which they perform Aslan tracks, covers of songs by bands that have inspired them and regale music fans with tales for their years on the road.
A graduate of the acclaimed music course at Colaiste Stiofan Naofa, Roy Buckley has an encyclopaedic knowledge of folk songs and the stories that go with them. An acclaimed songwriter and performer in his own right, Buckley has also collaborated with Eleanor Shanley, Frankie Conway and Finbar Furey among others.
Dubliner Dave Browne has played guitar with top acts including The Commitments, The Pogues, Aslan and The Dubliners. In 2011 he entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest guitar playing session (114 hours) and in 2014 his band the Black Donnellys broke the record for a the longest gig (372 hours).
In 2012 Browne was named the Irish Singer/Songwriter of the Year and ‘Notorious’, a song he wrote with fellow band member Dave Rooney, was licensed to the UFC and used in promotional videos during the lead up to Conor McGregor’s fight with Nate Diaz.
Tickets for The Song Collector Sessions at Cheers are available from the venue on 025 51699 priced at €15.