PERFECT 10
HERE’S OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
ROY’S SONG COLLECTOR SERIES BACK IN FERMOY
THE popular Song Collector Sessions will make a welcome return to the stage of Cheers Bar in Fermoy on Friday week (April 26)
Dreamed up and founded by Cork singer/ songwriter Roy Buckley, it is a series of intimate shows that offer 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 individual creative processes.
The line up for Cheers gig will feature John Spillane, Liam Reilly of Bagatelle and Roy Buckley himself with special guest compère PJ Coogan.
Tickets €15 from Cheers Bar on 025 51699.
THE SERVICE LIVE AND UNLEASHED AT THE LANE
CORK Ska six-piece band The Service will play a free late-night gig tonight (Thursday) at Cork’s Crane Lane Theatre.
The musical feast will take the audience through the sounds of old-school Jamaican Ska, to the warm sounds of Reggae and right through to essential 2-Tone classics.
The band has been playing Ska, Reggae, 2-Tone and Rocksteady to appreciative audiences since 1994, packing out venues across the country with their easy sound and enigmatic stage presence.
Their two-hour set pays homage to some of the great Ska and Reggae legends covering songs by Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat and Madness.
A live performance by The Service is guaranteed to get people’s feet stomping, head’s bopping and pulses racing.
KUDOS TO THE CORK KING’S OF ROCK AND ROLL
THE hugely popular Kings of Kudos will play a free l gig at De Barra’s Folk Club in Clonakilty on Friday night at 10.30pm.
Their story starts more than a decade ago when Stephen Housden (guitar/vocals), who has played and recorded with stellar musicians including Warren Zevon, Dr John and Glenn Frey and drummer Les Sampson (drums) joined forces.
After playing together with Noel Reading (formerly of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) the duo set up their own band as a vehicle for their original music. After various line-up changes the ‘Kings’ were born with the permanent addition of Mike Geaney (Eric Bell Band) on bass.
Their eclectic and exciting blend of music straddles different genres, with their live shows experiences to satisfy even the most jaded of musical palates.
MICK HANLY AND DONAL LUNNY AT THE INEC
TWO true legends of the Irish traditional music scene, Mick Hanly and Dónal Lunny will perform together on the stage of the INEC Acoustic Club on Friday week.
The musical paths of Mick Hanly & Donal Lunny have been intersecting since 1974 when Lunny produced Celtic Folkweave for the duo of Mick and Mícheál O’Domhnaill who were known as Monroe. He also produced Mick’s next two solo albums for the Mulligan label and in 1983 their paths crossed again when Mick took Christy Moore’s place in Moving Hearts.
It is almost inevitable that two artists whose careers have intertwined many times of more than four decades would sooner or later come together as a musical duo.
The combination of multi-instrumentalist Hanly and composer Lunny is a musical marriage made in musical heaven.
Tickets from www.tickets.ie priced at €17.35.
JINX LENNON AND GUESTS AT FRED ZEPPELINS
ACCLAIMED Irish spoken word artist and singer/songwriter Jinx Lennon, will bring his acid tongued wit and keen observations on the good, bad and downright ugly of modern day living to Fed Zeppelins on Friday night.
The gig is part of his latest tour promoting Lennon’s ninth album, the evocatively titled ‘Grow a Pair’, a record that according to Hot Press “formally re-asserts the industrious Dundalk man as one of Ireland’s vitally truculent voices”.
Lennon has never been backward in coming forward when he has something to say and as he says himself “diplomacy is fine for politicians at all levels, but when you have something to say about something that needs to be said truth and honesty are the best ways forward”.
Lennon will be joined on the night by Cork punk poet Wasps vs Humans and hip-hop duo T.P.M
Admission €10 at the door.
DICKIE SET TO ROCK THE GLENEAGLE BALLROOM
Veteran Irish singer and ‘ king of the swing’, the evergreen Dickie Rock will take to the stage at the Gleaneagle Ballroom in Killarney on Saturday night.
One of Ireland’s most loved and recognised crooners, Dickie has been packing out venues across Ireland and Europe for more than five decades and is one of the last major showband singers still regularly performing live concerts.
Even after all this time, he cannot leave the stage without performing ‘ Come Back to Stay’ and all his number one singles including ‘ There’s Always Me’ (1963), ‘ I’m Yours’ (1964), ‘ Wishing it was You’ (1965) and so many more.
Tickets to the concert, priced at €25, from the INEC box office on 064 667 1555.
WHITE HORSE GUITAR CLUB IN BALLINCOLLIG
THE critically acclaimed White Horse Guitar Club will play at gig at the Ballymaloe Grainstore in Ballincollig on Friday, April 26
Formed in 2012 the band evolved from an open club into a fully fledged touring ensemble of like-minded souls all of whom share a deep passion for playing the guitar and the Scottish/ Irish style of music that is deeply rooted in the southern US states of Kentucky and Tennessee.
The band has toured extensively across Ireland and Europe over the past six-years, performing an eclectic set-list proudly interpreting the songs of artists including Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Willie Nelson, Duddy Miller and Darrell Scott among others.
Think of a Welsh voice choir singing the songs of the Deep South and you get a flavour of their infectious sounds.
Tickets €30 from www.eventbrite.ie.
PATRICK BERGIN TO STAR IN ‘THE BLARNEY STONE’
HOLLYWOOD star Patrick Bergin will renew his successful relationship with the Lee Valley Players, playing the lead role in a brand new musical set to make its world première in Macroom next Thursday.
‘ The Blarney Stone’, an enchanting marriage of real life drama and the magical world of Irish mythology, will run for five eagerly anticipated performances at the Riverside Park Hotel.
Bergin, who starred in the Lee Valley Players 2016 world première of ‘Murder at Shandy Hall- The Musical’, will play the lead in the new production, which is based on a work written in 1928 by John McDonagh, the brother of poet, patriot and 1916 hero Thomas McDonagh, that had lain hidden for the best part of a century.
Tickets, priced at €20 (adults) and €16 (children and students) from www.macroom.ie.
DECLAN O’ROURKE LIVE AT THE WHITE HORSE
CRITICALLY acclaimed Irish singer/songwriter Declan O’Rourke will make a welcome return to Cork on Friday week (April 26) for a gig at the White Horse in Ballincollig.
O’Rourke’s 2005 debut album, ‘Since Kyabram’, proved to be the perfect calling card for the struggling songwriter who has gone on to release an impressive catalogue of recordings.
A passionate performer and storyteller with a distinctive sound rooted in folk and trad, O’Rourle has earned the respect of music insiders with his songs covered by artists including Paul Weller, Eddi Reader and Josh Groban.
Equally comfortable playing in front of an 50-piece orchestra or solo with just his guitar for company, O’Rourke is arguably one of Ireland’s finest contemporary live performers.
Tickets €26.50 from www.eventbrite.
SOULDRIVEN SET TO PLAY FREE COUGHLAN’S GIG
RENOWNED for their high-energy live shows, Cork seven-piece Souldriven will play a free gig Coughlan’s Live on Saturday night.
The band has been kicking down the doors and blowing the ceilings off venues across the country with their brass-infused mixture of soul, funk, jazz and blues.
With a set-list of tracks ranging from the 1950’s to the presents, the band specialise in rip-roaring covers by artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder, AC/DC, Dolly Parton, Perter Gabriel and John Legend.
The sheer musical virtuosity of band members combined with their collective stage presence makes each Souldriven an experience that is guaranteed to set toes tapping and pulses racing.