Entertaining Sligo
INFORMAL MUSIC AFTERNOONS
Informal Music Afternoons take place at The Model every month, the next instalments take place on Feb. 4 th, March 4 th, April 1st from 1 – 3pm Admission €5, children admitted free. Presented in partnership with Sligo Baroque Orchestra, IMAs are held on the first Sunday of each month at 1 pm. They present an eclectic mix of music from different genres, in a relaxed, cabaret style set-up in the Model’s atrium, with the café offering tempting refreshment.
DUETS AT THE WELL
The Hawk’s Well Theatre continues its Duets at the Well series with its next instalment on Sunday the 21st of January, featuring Laoise Kelly & Tiarnán O Duinnchinn, harper and piper respectively. This duo have achieved levels of excellence and mastery realised by only a very few musicians. They are regarded by many in the same light as the giants they invoke in their album title, On The Shoulders of Giants.
From Westport, harpist Laoise Kelly has three critically acclaimed solo albums to her name; ‘Just Harp’ (1999), ‘Ceis’ (2010), and ‘Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh’ (2015), as well as ‘ The Wishing Well’ (2010) - a live duo album with fiddle player Michelle O’Brien. Throughout her solo career she has recorded on over sixty albums with many of Ireland’s foremost artists including The Chieftains, Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon, Dónal Lunny, Tommy Makem, Matt Molloy, Mary Black, Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Eimear Quinn as well as Kate Bush and American country/ bluegrass icon, Tim O’Brien.
She has toured and performed all over the world, including Africa, Japan, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, the US and Canada, and at festivals such as Womad, Celtic Connections, Celtic Colours, Tonder, Dranouter, Lorient, Milwaukee and Armagh Piping Festival. She has performed for Irish Presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese; HRH Prince Andrew and for twenty-five EU heads of state and presidents in Dublin.
Described by many as being one of the most influential pipers of his generation, Monaghan-born
Tiarnán has won four Fleadh Ceoil All-Ireland titles, two Oireachtas titles and the Seán O’Riada Bonn Oir competition. His music has taken him all over the world and he has performed with musicians such as Tommy Peoples, Paul O Shaughnessy, Brian Finnegan, Niall and Cillian Vallely to name a few. Tiarnán toured extensively with Máire Ní Bhraonáin (Clannad) and has recorded two albums with Máire. He has also performed as a guest on many television shows over the years as well as presenting radio and television programmes for BBC, RTE and TG4.
I GOT RHYTHM
Alessandro Taverna comes to The Model on Friday 9 March at 8pm with his piano.
Admission: €25 (€10 students on the night)
Hailed by the British music critics as the “natural successor to his great compatriot Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli”, Alessandro Taverna has shown a most remarkable, constant development that makes him one of the most interesting pianists of his generation.
In constant demand, Taverna has performed throughout the world for the most renowned seasons and at esteemed concert halls. Taverna will perform a programme of Chopin, Gershwin, Nikolai Kapustin, and Friedrich Gulda.
JAZZ STARS AT THE YEATS BUILDING
Drummer David Lyttle and guitarist Andreas Varady represent the best in jazz coming out of Ireland in recent times. Both have performed worldwide, collaborated with jazz legends and received individual nominations in the prestigious MOBO Awards for Best Jazz Act.
At twelve years old Andreas wrote to David on YouTube saying he was a jazz guitarist and would love to play with him one day. David, who at the time was described as one of Ireland’s most exciting musical talents by both the mainstream and specialist media, visited Andreas and his family in Limerick and was immediately struck by his obvious talent. He began featuring him in his band, often alongside global stars such as Soweto Kinch and Terell Stafford, and Andreas began a dream career that has included performances around the world with icons such as George Benson, Cassandra Wilson, Lee Ritenour, Tommy Emmanuel and Bireli Lagrene, a major album deal with Verve Records and a management deal with Quincy Jones. Now he’s preparing to release his third album in April.
Andreas’ first performances outside of Limerick were in Sligo, in spring 2010 when Lyttle introduced him to Sligo Jazz Project founder Eddie Lee.
Lyttle, who is well-known to Sligo audiences and has been part of Sligo Jazz Project for several years, had a busy 2017 carrying out two major artist residencies. In April he travelled the width of the U.S. in a vintage Cadillac performing jazz for non-arts audiences including UFO tourists and cowboys, to learn more about the broader public’s perception of jazz. The project was funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and sponsored by Yamaha. In September and October he was the British Council’s Musician In Residence in East China, where he collaborated with traditional Chinese musicians. In the weeks following his return visit to Sligo he’ ll perform in Canada, Holland, the UK and again in China.
Lyttle and Varady’s visit to Sligo is being organised by one of the town’s most promising young talents, fifteen year old Fraser Gaine, who attends Summerhill College and lives in Strandhill.