2018-09-15 Hey Troubadour - Whelans Dublin

A few months back, a friend mentioned a gig that was taking place in Whelans in September. Glen Hansard, David Keenan, Mark Geary and a few others were all due to play. It sounded like a good night out and hey, it was in aid of a charity, so I just had to go!

Turns out that the charity in question was Aidlink. So who are they? Well, Aidlink are an Irish NGO working with communities in Kenya, Ghana & Uganda to deliver basic needs such as water, education, healthcare and promoting & protecting Girls' Rights. That’s a very worthy cause so go check out their website.

OK, that’s the reason we were all there out of the way, so who played you’re probably wondering. Well lots, lots of artists played! I don’t have photos of everyone unfortunately, fun got in the way of taking photos at times!

The main gig was downstairs in Whelans, each artist played 2 or 3 songs and things moved along nicely. I also caught a few acts live that I'd never seen before such as Ailbhe Reddy, Ruth Mac, Junior Brother and Larry Beau. It's aleays great to be introduced to new music!

Mind you, it wasn't all music. The rather brilliant Natalya O'Flaherty performed some of her own poetry and you couldn't help but be moved by it. Amazing stuff.

But like all good things, the night had to come to an end. Well... A few of the artists and some of the punters retired to the smaller upstairs venue where the party continued in earnest!

Mundy, Steve Wall, Sample Answer and Jane Willow all got up to play a few more tunes and kept the party alive till the very early hours. Rumour has it that there is a photo of me on stage with all those legends. I say rumour... The photo is actually sitting in a frame in my house!

It would be amazing if the “Hey Troubadour” gig was to become and annual event, showcasing the best and brightest of the new school with the elder states folk of the Irish music scene. Here’s hoping that Born Optimistic will make it happen!

Check out the photos below:

Steve Wall

Ruth Mac

Glen Hansard

Sample Answer

Ailbhe Reddy

Junior Brother

David Keenan

Mark Geary

Mundy

Steve Wall

Sample Answer

Jane Willow

Interview with King Kong Company

Originally published 10/09/2013 on Chunk.ie So, there I was, wandering around the Electric Picnic wondering who I was going to watch next. One of the lads said he had heard good things about King Kong Company and that we should check them out, so off we headed to the Body and Soul Arena to do just that. As I mentioned in my review of the Electric Picnic, the gig was epic. I figured we just had to interview them here on CHUNK.ie, and here it is! First things first, congratulations on a storming gig at the Electric Picnic. It completely blew me away. Was this your first Picnic experience? We’ve been to many Electric Picnics over the years but just as punters, and it’s always been a great festival, so it was a fantastic experience to play at its 10 year anniversary. King Kong Company is a rather interesting name for a band, where or how did you come up with it? The name is taken from the film Taxi Driver. If you look closely, Travis Bickle is wearing a badge which says King

2022-11-04 Mairead Carroll - Moat Theatre, Naas

Every now and then I have a choice of gigs to go to... This night, I could have driven into Dublin to see Meryl Streek in the Workmans Club , or I could stay local and go see Mairead Carroll in the Moat Theatre in Naas. Well, it was a no brainer. The weather was terrible and, well, I felt terrible too, so I figured I'd stay local. Mairead has played the Moat Theatre before, but always as support, never as the main attraction. Tonight, would be her debut headline performance and she didn't let anyone down! I'm not quite sure how to describe here music. It's not folk, it's not trad, it's not country or rock... It's. well, it's very light and soft and calming. Mairead is a poet who, only relatively recently, has started putting her words to music. It's a very relaxing affair! Her songs are very personal, and, at first listen, you might think them melancholy, but then you hear the joy and the love in them, and you start to see them for what they

2022-03-26 Buskers on Grafton Street, Dublin

I took a walk around Dublin today, thought I'd check out the buskers on Grafton Street. There's a fine history of busking in Dublin, acts like Hothouse Flowers , The Frames , Rodrigo y Gabriela , Damien Rice , Paddy Casey , Kodaline and a host of others all cut their teeth on and around Grafton Street. It stands to reason that some of those busking today will be successful in the future! So, who did I get to see today? Well, check out the photos below: Zoe Clarke Allie Sherlock Paul Jenkinson

IrishMJ

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