PERFECT 10
HERE ARE OUR TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN CORK THIS WEEK
SEÁN KEANE TO PLAY THE INEC
POPULAR Irish singer and musician Seán Keane will play the INEC in Killarney on Saturday night accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra under the direction of Kathy Fahey.
Known for his distinctive sean-nós style, Keane’s voice is unique with his songs also encompassing a mixture of trad, pop, blues and country. The Galway native was born into a musical family that included his renowned sister, Dolores, and he was a founder member of the band Arcady.
Keane has won numerous awards, and the London Independent described him as “the greatest Irish musical find of the ‘90s”.
Fergus Feely, Pay Coyne, David Doocey and Stephen Doherty will also join Keane as he sings tracks from his extensive repertoire on will be a magical night of music and song. Tickets at €36 are available from www.inec.ie.
DE LEASTAR TO PLAY IN YOUGHAL
THE atmospheric surroundings of St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal will host a concert by Clonmel singer/songwriter Ruairí de Leastar on Friday evening at 8pm.
For the past 15 years, de Leastar has been honing his craft and enrapturing countless audiences with his ‘songs of hope and fervent wisdom’. An accomplished songwriter from a young age, de Leastar has fronted multiple successful bands and duos and has also shared the stage with a clutch of Irish musical luminaries including Duke Special, Lisa Hannigan, Jerry Fish and Foy Vance.
A musician of true passion, he also possesses a voice that rivals some of the greats. Tickets are €15 and available from Cree’s Card Shop in Youghal or telephone bookings at 087 959 3276.
SLOW MOVING CLOUDS AT CRANE LANE THEATRE ON SUNDAY
FOLLOWING the release of their second album ‘Starfall’ this year, Irish/Nordic folk trio Slow Moving Clouds will play a free gig at the Crane Lane Theatre on Sunday afternoon at 3pm.
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 there. Their 2015 debut album ‘Os’ earned the band global acclaim, with critics drawing comparisons to post-rock Icelandic legends Sigur Rós and trad super-group 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.
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AT THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
THE Irish Chamber Orchestra will perform a concert at the CIT School of Music tonight (Thursday) with the special guest being Australian violinist, composer and conductor Brett Dean.
Dean left his native Brisbane in 1984 to perform as a violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic, staying with them for 14 years before returning back to Australia to concentrate on composing music. Fast forward to 2019 and his music features in the repertoire of some of the world’s orchestras.
The programme for tonight’s concert will see his ‘Short Stories’, five evocative abstract miniatures, as interludes between Mozart’s rarely heard ‘Masonic Funeral Music;, alongside Hindemith’s achingly beautiful ‘ Trauermusik’ and Mahler’s atmospheric ‘Adagio’ from his towing ‘ Tenth Symphony’. Tickets for the concert are available at www.corkorchestralsociety.ie and priced at €25/€20.
BRIAN KENNEDY IN BALLYMALOE
MULTI-AWARD-WINNING Belfast singer/songwriter Brian Kennedy will play a gig at the Ballymaloe Grainstore in Shanagarry on Sunday evening at 8pm.
A successful writer, TV presenter and recording artist in his own right, Kennedy is first and foremost a live performer having sold out venues across the globe with his stunning voice and affable stage presence. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, Kennedy has done it all, from singing backing vocals with Van Morrison to performing with ‘Riverdance on Broadway’ to being a coach on ‘ The Voice of Ireland’.
Following major surgery for cancer last year, Kennedy is back and better than ever, proof that music can be the best medicine of all. Tickets for the concert from www.eventbrite.ie are priced at €27 (plus booking fee).
FREE GIG WITH CRAZY CHESTER
The hugely popular Cork band Crazy Chester will play a free late-night gig at Couglan’s Live on Douglas Street on Saturday night from 10pm.
Heavily influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Neil Young, the band play a style of music that effortlessly crosses between rock, country and pure Americana, with their original songs tipping more than a nod to Crosby, Still, Nash & Young and The Band.
Renowned for their lively and entertaining live shows, the strong and fluent musicianship of band members, Darren Grimley (vocals, guitar), Robbie Barron (guitar), David Jones (drums), James O’ Sullivan (bass), and Sonny Greenwich Jnr (mandolin) combined with a strong catalogue of covers and self-penned songs, separate Crazy Chester from the majority of ‘good time’ cover bands out there.
‘DON’T FEAR THE LIGHT’ AT THE CORK OPERA HOUSE
AS part of the 2019 Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival, the Minimalist Dream House quartet will perform the Irish première of ‘Don’t Fear The Light’ in the Cork Opera House at 2pm on Saturday.
In 2013, the Labèque sisters, described by the New York Times as ‘ the best piano duo in front of an audience today’, recorded ‘Minimalist Dream House’, a double album celebrating the works of minimal music pioneers and their successors.
For ‘Don’t Fear The Light’ they have been joined by Bryce Dessner (member and founder of The National) and David Chalmin (La Terre Invisible) to perform an updated version of that album, which will include new works by Thom Yorke, Steve Reich, Timo Andres and Philip Glass, as well as Dessner and Chalmin.
Tickets for the concert from www.corkoperahouse.ie are priced at €35.
HANK AND RAY BACK ON SONG
VETERAN Cork singer/songwriter Hank Wedel will return to Charlie’s Bar on Cork’s Union Quay next Monday for the latest instalment of his by-now legendary residency with Ray Barron.
The very epitome of a modern-day troubadour, Wedel gigs all across Cork, often playing as many as three venues in a single a night. A consummate performer who has been at the top of his game for many years, he has shared the stage with the likes of Bono, Declan Sinnott and Shane McGowan.
With Hank on vocals and guitar, and Ray on mandolin, the pair play everything from Bob Dylan to Finnish waltzes, putting together a great show that will set toes tapping, hands clapping and put everyone in the Festive mood.
WEEKEND OF CONCERT’S AT DONERAILE COURT
THE recently re-opened ground floor of the stately 18th century Doneraile Court will hold two concerts this weekend as part of its autumn programme of cultural events.
Friday night’s recital by the Anime Violin Trio from Serbia, will feature an exciting programme of works by composers including Dejan Despic, Ian Wilson, JS Bach, Telemann and Mozart.
The following night the man described by the Irish Times as ‘Ireland’s most distinctive guitarist’, Redmond O’Toole, will perform a recital on an eight-string Brahms guitar. Tickets for each night, priced at €15 or €50 for a family of four, are available from www.eventbrite.ie.
For full details of other upcoming events at Doneraile Court over the coming weeks, visit www.donerailestate.ie.
TOMMY FLEMING AT FRIAR’S GATE
ACCLAIMED Irish singer Tommy Fleming will play an acoustic gig at the Friar’s Gate Theatre, Killmallock, this Saturday evening at 8pm.
A Tommy Fleming concert is a musical experience not to be missed, with one song more haunting than the other. His easy-going style and stunning voice has universal appeal to all ages and backgrounds, earning him an ever-expanding fanbase.
His repertoire of songs, delivered with electric emotion and passion, have brought him worldwide recognition, album sales in excess of two million copies and more then three million YouTube hits. The concert will include his versions of his biggest hits including ‘Danny Boy’ (acclaimed by Eric Clapton as “the best I have heard, bar none”), ‘Bright Blue Rose’ and ‘Hard Times’.
Tickets for the show, priced at €28.50, are available from www. friarsgate.ie.