PERFECT 10
HERE’S OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
PARISIAN DELIGHTS WITH CHRISTINE BOVILL
JAZZ chanteuse Christine Bovill ,who enchanted Cork audiences last year with her tribute to the life and works of Edith Piaf, will return to the Everyman Palace on Saturday with her stunning new show.
‘Christine Bovill’s Paris’ brings audiences back to the golden age of French song, through the music of a cast of heroes and outcasts, cynics and bruised romantics with her remarkable voice,
Using drama, pathos and no small measures of pizzazz, Bovill casts a sepia-tinged spotlight on the songs and stories of artist including Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf, Juliette Creco and Charles Aznavour.
This promises to be a stunning show performed by the woman widely regarded as the world’s greatest interpreter of French song.
Tickets from the Everyman Palace box office on 021 450 1673 priced at €26.
COOL CATS PERFORMING A SWING JOB AT THE INEC
THE Swing Cats will take to the stage of the INEC in Killarney on Friday night with their ‘Story of Swing’ show, a tribute to the great singers of the genre down through the decades.
Starting in the 1920’s and moving seamlessly through the big band era of the 30’s and 40’s, the 50’s and 60’s with household names like Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Andy Williams to the modern era of Buble and Paulo Nutini, the show features note perfect renditions of numerous timeless classics.
Led by award-winning singer Luke Thomas, The Swing Cats have amassed a huge following throughout Ireland and Europe thanks to their distinctive sound and style which is steeped in the golden age of swing music.
Tickets for the concerts from the venue on 064 667 1555 priced at €22.90.
SLOW MOVING CLOUDS AT COUGHLAN’S LIVE
FOLLOWING the release of their second album ‘Starfall’, Irish/Nordic folk trio Slow Moving Clouds will play Coughlan’s Live tonight (Thursday) at 8pm.
Comprised of Finnish musician/artist Aki, Irish fiddle player Danny Diamond and cellist Kevin Murphy, the trio blend folk, post-punk drone, baroque strings and soaring falsetto voices into an immersive and atmospheric sound quite unlike anything else out thee.
Their 2015 debut album ‘Os’ earned the band global acclaim, with critics drawing comparisons to post-rock Icelandic legends Sigur Ros and Trad supergroup The Gloaming.
In 2016 the band created the score for Teac Damsa’s Swan Lake/Loch na hEala, a contemporary adaptation of the classical ballet set in the Irish Midlands, which was awarded Best Production at the 2017 Irish Theatre Awards.
Tickets for tonight’s gig from www.coughlanslive.ie priced at €15.
LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY SET FOR LIVE AT ST LUKE’S
SEMINAL reggae singer and producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and his backing band will play the intimate Like at St Luke’s in Cork City on Saturday evening.
Known as ‘ The Godfather of Reggae’ and ‘ The Creator of Dub’, Perry has worked everyone from the Skatalites to The Clash and has even been credited with pairing Peter Tosh with Bob Marley and the Wailers.
During a career spanning more than six-decades, he has recorded more than 50 solo and collaborative albums, won numerous awards and was included in Rolling Stone magazines top 100 artists of all time.
At the ripe old age of 82 he is still making new music and touring it across the globe - much to the delight of his legions of adoring fans.
Tickets from www.uticket.ie priced at €25 (plus booking fee).
SASSY BLUES WITH MARY COUGHLAN AT DE BARRA’S
LEGENDARY Irish jazz and blues singer Mary Coughlan will bring her sassy and uncompromising live show to the stage at De Barra’s Folk Club in Clonakilty on Friday night.
Throughout the more than 30-years of her extraordinary career, Coughlan has drawn heavily from her legendary heroes combining Billie Holiday’s grievous and teary outpourings, the husky flirtations of Peggy Lee, Van Morrison’s soulful wails and the defiant chanteusery of Edith Piaf into one stunning package.
Dubbed ‘ the Irish Billie Holiday’ Coughlan’s naked honesty and unmistakable voice have earned her the respect of the music critics and fans alike, with her seminal albums ‘ Tired and Emotional’ and ‘Under the Influence’ still regarded as two the greatest ever Irish LP’s.
She is perhaps best known for her live performances, which have become the stuff of legend. Tickets €24.50 from www.tickets.ie.
ENJOY A NIGHT OF SOUL WITH THE UNDERWOOD’S
CORK’S own ‘ Chicago ‘Diva’, the wonderful Karen Underwood will be joined by her daughter Christiana for what promises to be a magical and uplifting evening of music at the White Horse in Ballincollig on Saturday night.
Karen is renowned for her powerful, passionate and moving interpretations of the songs of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.
Christiana is also well-know in local music circles in her own right having performed with acts including The Light Runners, She Said and her mother’s Gospel Trio.
‘Generations’ will see the Underwood’s perform a selection of their favourite songs by some of the most influential females artist to have ever graced the stage and tell stories about their own close relationship.
Tickets from www.eventbrite.ie priced at €20 (plus booking fee).
‘THE CAMINO VOYAGE’ AT THE TRISKEL CENTRE
SCREENINGS of the magical documentary ‘ The Camino Voyage’ will take place at the Triskel Christchurch Arts Centre from next Sunday.
The film follows a writer, two musicians an artist and stonemason as they embark on the Camino by sea in a traditional boat they built themselves on an inspiring and treacherous 2,500 km modern day Celtic odyssey from Ireland to Spain.
The documentary charts the trials and tribulations of the voyage, that in the words of crew member Danny Sheehy took “sweat, blood and blisters to complete.”
The connections made with both individuals and communities along the way through storytelling, song, poetry and music take centre stage in this intimate account of four present-day pilgrims and a tiny boat set against a vast ocean.
Tickets from www.trisketartscentre.ie.
TRIBUTE TO ‘QUEEN OF SOUL’ AT THE OPERA HSE
THE music and atmosphere of a concert by the late great ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin will be brought to life on the stage of the Cork Opera House on Friday night.
Aretha Franklin’s passing in April 2018 was acknowledged around the world and her loss was felt by anyone who had ever heard her spellbinding voice live or on record, or witnessed her powerful, emotive and evocative live performances.
One of the best-selling artists of all time, she sold more than 75 million records worldwide and her legacy and memory is alive in so many musicians and in their music today.
Performed by six of Ireland’s top female vocalists and accompanied by The Firm Big Band, ‘R.E.S.P.E.C.T’ features all of Franklin’s greatest hits including ‘Respect’, ‘I Say A Little Prayer’, ‘Natural Woman’, ‘ Think’ and many more.
Tickets €27.50. from www.corkoperahouse.ie.
JOE ROONEY LINED UP FOR CORK COMEDY CLUB GIG
THE unmistakable figure of Joe Rooney will dominate the stage at the City Limits Comedy Club in Cork City on Saturday night.
Rooney, who is a well know face on our TV screens through his roles in shows including Father Damo in Fr Ted and Timmy Higgins in Killinascully, is also an accomplished stand-up with unique slant on life and hilarious musical impressions, charming audiences across the country.
Described by the Sunday Times as “totally unorthodox with a bizarre style”, Rooney has become a well-known and popular figure on the live circuit.
Tickets to the gig, from www.thecomedyclub.ie priced at €18.
THE VANBRUGH AND GUESTS IN YOUGHAL
THE Mall Arts Centre in Youghal will host a concert by The Vanbrugh and special guests on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
Comprised of Keith Pascoe (violin), Simon Aspell (viola) and Christopher Marwood (cello), The Vanbrugh has evolved from the work of the Vanbrugh Quartet which was based in Cork as RTE’s Resident Quartet from 1986 to 2013.
Over three decades the quartet gave close to three thousand concerts, presenting the chamber music repertoire to audiences throughout Ireland, Europe, the Americas, and the Far East.
Saturday’s concert will feature guests Macdara Ó Seirdáin (clarinet) and Siun Milne (violin) performing Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major (K.581) and Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B Minor (Op.115).
Tickets from 087 959 3276 priced at €15.