folk
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The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock: ‘History Rarely Repeats, But Often Rhymes’
Retelling the story of the 1913 Strike and Lockout with an eighteen-piece guitar orchestra was always going to be a big ask. Allen Blighe and Enda Bates of Dublin folk-rockers The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock discuss the endeavour. For over a decade now, Dublin-based five-piece The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock have been fusing…
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Wallis Bird: Home is Where the Heart Is
Enniscorthy singer-songwriter Wallis Bird has undertaken a great journey along the Continent in recent years. Ahead of her next swing of Irish gigs, including headlining Ballincollig Winter Music Festival, Mike McGrath-Bryan hears about the road, the process and the future. As the noughties wore on, music was shedding its skin, emerging from an almost unrecognisable…
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Ye Vagabonds: Not All Who Wander Are Lost
The brothers MacGloinn and their cohorts have finally unveiled their debut long-player. Ahead of Ye Vagabonds’ Live at St. Luke’s excursion this month, Mike McGrath-Bryan talk to Diarmuid MacGloinn about recording, releasing and touring. Carlow outfit Ye Vagabonds have been something of a hot commodity in recent years, bringing a hint of Americana, specifically Appalachian…
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Séamus Fogarty: “A Bit More Logical”
Having long transcended his Co. Mayo beginnings to become a somewhat-fancied folk proposition, Séamus Fogarty has seemingly quietly arrived in 2017, touring comprehensively and overcoming the obstacles of life as an independent musician in the current climate. Sophomore full-length ‘The Curious Hand’ is done, dusted and went out the gap last month. On the eve…
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Katie Kim: “Who Knows What I’m Capable Of?”
Ahead of appearing at Cork Jazz this weekend with the Altered Hours, Katie Kim talks reverb, records and the future with Mike McGrath-Bryan. An elusive sight on gigging bills, Waterford singer-songwriter Katie Kim carries perhaps more of a mystique for being so, weaving stark imagery and toll-taking catharsis around moody arrangements centred on Kim’s moody…
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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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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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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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Josienne Walker & Ben Clark: Walking New Ground
Josienne Walker and Ben Clarke have been on the rise in UK folk as of recent years, with new album ‘Overnight’ seeing them expand their horizons. Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Clarke and finds out more. It’s a busy time for the duo of Josienne Walker and Ben Clarke, a somewhat iconoclastic double-act whose current album…
Mike McGrath-Bryan 