In the early 1980s, Artie Silver was everywhere. His face was on every bus in town. On April 5th, 1983, his life was turned upside down when he returned to his home from an international tour a day early to surprise his wife, Sharon, only to find her in bed with his then business manager, Carl Weathers. With his personal life and finances in tatters, he tried to continue performing but was clearly broken and spent much of the concerts crying and whimpering. Fans lost interest in him and he evaporated from the public eye for much of the 90s and 2000s. Now he has begun to rebuild his career singing songs of the betrayal and loneliness that riddles the world of business.
Kevin Burke: Fiddle, Dermot Byrne: Accordion, Noriana Kennedy: Vocals and 5-string banjo, Jim Murray: Guitar
Four extraordinary musicians who have shared their music with audiences for over four decades – their programme will feature inspired performances of traditional and contemporary material from artists whose collective experience and creativity have carved a deep impression on the landscape of traditional Irish music.
Audiences can look forward to an evening of remarkable musicianship, rich storytelling and joyful collaboration.
Kevin Burke:
Kevin Burke’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music since the 1970s. His far-reaching solo album If the Cap Fits and his work with such distinguished performers as Arlo Guthrie, Kate Bush, Christy Moore and the Bothy Band established him as a ground-breaking artist. Kevin has earned international acclaim in both Europe and America as a solo performer, a teacher and as a member of some of folk music’s foremost groups including the exciting Celtic Fiddle Festival and Ireland’s long admired and respected Patrick Street. He has been the recipient of prestigious awards including Gradam Ceoil TG4 Musician of the Year 2016 and a National Heritage Fellowship, the USA’s highest honour for excellence in the folk and traditional arts.
“A superior instrumentalist in any idiom……impressively virtuosic”The New York Times [on Burke]
Dermot Byrne:
Dermot Byrne’s seemingly effortless playing, combined with great subtlety and a faultless ear, makes him one of the finest accordion players of his generation. Hailing from the Inishowen peninsula of Co. Donegal, Dermot was a member of the renowned Irish traditional music band Altan from 1994 to 2013. He has also collaborated with Séamus and Manus McGuire, Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin and Bríd Harper. Outside of traditional music, he has recorded and performed with household names including Dolly Parton, John Prine, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Paul Brady and the late jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. His recent recordings with Canadian fiddler Pierre Schryer (2Worlds United), French harpist Floriane Blancke (Dermot Byrne and Floriane Blancke), Yvonne Casey (As We Feel It) and Steve Cooney (The Donegal Melodeon) have received widespread critical acclaim.
“A timeless delight that straddles centuries with the agility and ease that Byrne’s fingers ricochet across the reeds”The Irish Times [on Byrne’s self-titled album]
Noriana Kennedy:
Half Irish and half Filipino, Noriana Kennedy possesses a captivating voice lauded by the Irish Times as ‘a knockout: translucent and tenacious in equal measure’. Since her debut album Ebb n Flow was released in 2011, her career has soared, touring extensively in the USA with renowned traditional group Solas and sharing the stage with highly respected artists like Pauline Scanlon, Eilís Kennedy, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and John Spillane. In 2013, Noriana joined Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell to form the stunning songwriting trio The Whileaways. Together with her bandmates, Noriana has contributed to four albums, earning several RTÉ Folk Award nominations along the way.
“Kennedy’s vocals … full of layered textures that promise to lodge deep within an audience’s subconscious for later savouring”The Irish Times
Jim Murray:
Joining them is Jim Murray, one of the world’s leading acoustic guitar players. For over twenty years he has toured, performed and recorded with artists such as Sharon Shannon, Sinéad O’Connor, Steve Earle, Shane MacGowan, Séamus Begley, Mike McGoldrick, Altan and Mary Black. In 1998, he began his professional career, having been invited to tour Japan and Australia with accordion legend Séamus Begley, whilst also in the same year touring America with piano accordion ace Alan Kelly. In 1999, Jim was invited to become guitarist with world renowned Irish musician Sharon Shannon and has recorded and toured with her across five continents. Jim had an extraordinary musical partnership with accordionist and singer Séamus Begley and their debut album Ragairne, released in 2001, received both The Irish Times and Hot Press Traditional Irish Music Album of the Year.
“Enormous vim, vigour and at the same time, remarkable subtlety”The Irish Times [on Murray]
<<This event is free as part of Culture Night however due to limited capacity you must register for a ticket in order to attend>>
Hailing from the Comeragh Mountains of County Waterford, The Wran are four brothers: Tommy, Danny, Seán and Stephen Dunford. They bring a fresh voice to Irish music, blending trad with punk and a hint of psychedelia to create music that feels both timeless and new. Drawing inspiration from Planxty, The Pogues and Lankum,
The Wran combines traditional and modern instrumentation, including banjo, harmonium, acoustic guitar, bass VI and drums. They are dedicated to keeping the Irish language, traditional songs and storytelling alive while continuing to push it forward in their own way.
After an explosive live debut in 2025, including accoladed performances at Glastonbury, Green Man, All Together Now, and Electric Picnic, the band went on to support The Scratch and Kíla, play Dublin’s Notable NYD festival, and sell out their first Irish tour. Beginning 2026 with a sold-out UK tour, The Wran are fast establishing themselves as one of Ireland’s most vital new bands.
“the sound of a band on the cusp of greatness” Rolling Stone UK
“To highlight Cliffords as ones-to-watch does a disservice to the staggering power and unlimited potential on display here: this is far more than just hype.” DIY Magazine
“[the EP] represents more than just a musical beginning; it captures what makes Cliffords such a compelling proposition” DORK
It’s been a busy and exciting few months for Cliffords as they introduced themselves to the wider world with their second EP, Salt of the Lee. It’s the sound of a band who made their initial moves outside of the glare of the music industry, and whose self-financed debut EP landed with much promise but without any pressure of expectation beyond their own. Salt of the Lee fulfils all that promise emphatically, and another thrilling next step for a band who are quickly on the rise.
Whilst Cliffords certainly continue to develop and discover both themselves as a band and their sound, they’ve already become a compelling proposition whose word-of-mouth live shows are the sound of a band on the brink of something very special.
Paul Brady has won Lifetime Achievement awards from both The Irish Recorded Music Association and the BBC. He was inducted into the British Composers and Songwriters Academy in 2004 and the (Irish) IMRO Songwriters Academy in 2013 and was further honoured by the President of Ireland with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
Here’s why.
Paul Brady
Paul Brady, singer, songwriter, musician and producer has for over fifty years been at the forefront of popular music in Ireland. Spending the first decade and a half of his career absorbing influences from Jazz, Blues, Pop, Soul and Irish folk music in bands while at college in Dublin, and later with The Johnstons, Planxty and Andy Irvine, his dramatic interpretations of classic traditional ballads such as Arthur McBride and The Lakes of Pontchartrain firmly established him as one of the cornerstones of the new wave of Irish music and song in the 1970s.
Around the end of that decade, he began to write his own songs and has since forged a reputation as one of Ireland’s finest singer-songwriters, releasing many popular and critically acclaimed records. Songs such as The Island, Crazy Dreams, Nothing But The Same Old Story, Nobody Knows, Follow On, The Long Goodbye, The World Is What You Make It and Paradise Is Here have, over the years, given joy and emotional sustenance to generations of Irish at home and abroad.
Not long after he released ‘Hard Station’, his first album of his own compositions in 1981, his songs started to come to the attention of artists worldwide and his first ‘cover’ came the following year when Santana recorded ‘Night Hunting Time’. Since then, his songs have been recorded by many international artists including Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Cher, Carole King, Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Trisha Yearwood and Phil Collins and closer to home, Ronan Keating, Joe Dolan, Dickie Rock, Maura O’Connell, Liam Clancy and Mary Black.
Paul continues to write, record and perform either solo, in trio or full band. A Paul Brady concert is always a special event.
He has been with his partner Mary Elliott since 1975. They have two grown-up children, Sarah and Colm and five grandchildren, Lyra, Sean, Finn, Leo and Olive. Paul lives in Dublin.
Leah Song is a storyteller, song-catcher, and cultural bridge-builder, best known as the frontwoman of Rising Appalachia alongside her sister, Chloe. She plays claw-hammer banjo, bodhrán, and guitar, and is a keeper of both traditional and contemporary songs. For over two decades, she has carried her voice across borders, blending Appalachian folk and global roots music into songs that honor both land and lineage. Her repertoire includes Southern folk, old-world balladry, and Appalachian traditionals.
Leah has studied and worked alongside some of the greatest musicians and culture keepers of our time, including Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Bobby McFerrin, Bruce Molsky, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Sheila Kay Adams, Martin Hayes, Cathy Jordan, Moya Brennan, Martin Shaw, Winona LaDuke, Joanna Macy, and more. She is joined on stage by a rotating cast of incredible musicians and multi-instrumentalists. Join her in gathering tools and teachings of resiliency, music, mythology, and celebration through sound.
the Scoil na mBuachaillí public debut of ’We Can Be Stars’ – written for George Lowden by the students of SNAMB in grattiude for George’s gift of a guitar to the school last year a ‘Sheeran’ by Lowden Acoustic Guitars
Join the Cigf25 Festival Allstars for a raucous Blues Session at the legendary Fahey’s Bar! This event pays homage to the rich heritage of blues music, which originated in African-American communities in the Deep South following the Civil War. The blues is deeply rooted in the soulful expressions of work songs, spirituals, and field hollers, capturing the essence of the struggles and triumphs of everyday life.
“Wave you arms all about and let the Lord hear you shout with West Cork’s favourite swinging jazz band! Founding members consist of dancing duo Paul and Mae, two Tonys and an Andrew; they’ve come together to bring you red hot jazz and dirty blues. Come prepared to get your soul saved and have a raucous time dancing the night away! This isn’t grandad’s jazz band, it’s Swing, You Sinners!”
Clonakilty Youth Orchestra is a dynamic and inclusive youth-led project which has been performing since 2014 under the volunteer supervision of local composer and violinist Justin Grounds. Come and hear the next generation of musicians play their take on classical, jazz and film music, featuring a special collaboration with youth choir ‘The Awesome Wonders’
