Writing
Journalism for various print and online outlets.
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Hermitage Green: “We’re Very Bloody Lucky to Be Doing This”
Hermitage Green vocalist Dan Murphy speaks with Mike McGrath-Bryan about Townlands Carnival, following up their debut album, life on a major label, and more. The run-up to this year’s Townlands Carnival is another in a long series of winding turns for Limerick-based folk-rock outfit Hermitage Green. Formed in the earlier part of the decade, the…
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Jeru the Damaja: “It Feels Like the Nineties Again for Me”
Hip-hop survivor Jeru the Damaja arrives at Townlands Carnival this weekend with nearly thirty years of tunes at his disposal. Speaking with Mike McGrath-Bryan, he touches on hip-hop’s golden age, his own experiences, and the challenges that await him in the future. The sign of a relevant artist is one that refuses to rest on…
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Cork’s Venue Crisis: Have Heart
Cork’s arts scene faces major troubles in terms of spaces for practice and performance. And while the issues are important, we’ve been here before on a regular basis, writes Mike McGrath-Bryan. “Cork Gets Her Heart Back”, read the headline of an article on Totally Cork man Gary Meyler’s blog The G-Man, when independent music institution…
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Cork Community Gamelan: Sound the Gongs
Cork Community Gamelan has finally found a permanent home in the city-centre, and Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with UCC’s Kelly Boyle and Music Generation Cork City’s Margaret O’Sullivan ahead of the project establishing itself in earnest. Since being installed in University College Cork nearly twenty years ago, the Javanese Gamelan that resides in the college’s Sunday’s…
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Brushy One-String: “I’m An All-Purpose Person When It Comes to Music”
In the lead-up to his upcoming appearance at Townlands Carnival festival in Macroom, YouTube star Brushy One-String talks to Mike McGrath-Bryan about his life, his music, and how a chance encounter brought him his fortune. The story of Brushy One-String’s ascent to musical notoriety wouldn’t go amiss in the canon of the great musical underdogs:…
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Gavin James: No Bitter Pill
On the eve of his return to Cork after the biggest year of his career so far, Mike McGrath-Bryan talks with Marquee-bound singer-songwriter Gavin James. Gavin James cuts an excitable figure as your writer greets him at his room in the Clayton Hotel on the quays, ahead of his date at the Marquee. Part nervous…
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Valerie June: Everything In Time
Ahead of a pair of Cork dates, songwriter Valerie June speaks with Mike McGrath-Bryan about Ireland, writing, and being Bob Dylan’s favourite. Memphis-born singer/guitarist Valerie June’s star has been in the ascendant for the last few years now, as tireless, globe-crossing touring has worked alongside a consistently growing media profile at home. It’s paying off…
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Jenny Greene: Nineties Anthems with an Electric Orchestra
Ahead of her Marquee appearances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with DJ Jenny Greene about the challenges and rewards of rearranging dance classics for an orchestral stage. Jenny Greene has been a stalwart of electronic music in Ireland for nearly twenty years, DJing in clubs and festivals up and down the country…
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Inni-K and Stephen James Smith: The Best of Both Worlds
As singer-songwriter Inni-K prepares for collaborative dates with poet Stephen James Smith, Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with both about how they came together and what to expect. The interaction between music and forms of spoken word has been a recurring feature of live activity in Cork, with an active and vocal hip-hop scene buttressed by spoken…
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Cork Fighting Game Community: Mastering the Art of Fighting
With the new year well underway, the various gaming communities of Cork begin to line up their year’s big events, from tabletops to TV screens. With expansion on their minds, and an eye to national and international competition, Cork Fighting Game Community look toward bigger things in 2017. Throwing fireballs with Mike McGrath-Bryan are Cork…
Mike McGrath-Bryan 