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From Clonakilty in West Cork comes a guitar and mandolin wielding alt-folk/country artist, with the maturity to know that there is strength in vulnerability and power in gentleness.
Paula’s music holds her truth.

Her debut album, Evangeline, is an alt country folky gem whose songs have, in general, a narrative structure but whose lyrics paint pictures to match any of the great musical storytellers you care to mention. But it’s Paula’s voice that stands out, full of emotion and ready to tell the truth. 

Paula was chosen by IMRO to play at Templebar Tradfest 2017  and was chosen by Luka Bloom to sing backing vocals for his album Frugalisto. She has played support for Hothouse Flowers, Nick Harper, Jack L and Mama Kin. She is involved in the Starling Song Project and has contributed to podcasts on the importance of arts in healthcare.  She is a founding member and bassist of an all girl group called The Kates who play songs written or performed by women, to showcase the female talent who pushed the boundaries of a historically male driven industry. 

Currently, Paula is recording new songs with the well known multi instrumentalist and sound engineer, John Fitzgerald in Lettercollum Recording studio, Timoleague. These songs are due to be released in September and she is privileged to launch her EP Caroline the weekend of the incredible Clonakilty International Guitar Festival ’19 . Caroline is a collection of songs that hold huge meaning to Paula as they deal with the process of grieving after the loss of her Mother and which also celebrates the legacy of love she left behind. 

 Paula is  a nurse  in Clonakilty Community Hospital and you can also find her jamming with Irelands finest musicians in the legendary Shanley’s Bar and DeBarra’s Folk Club, Clonakilty. 

For the launch of her EP, Paula has gathered a group of talented musicians to help her introduce Caroline to the world. Join them and be witness to the birth of something very special indeed. 

Strong Feelings is the follow up to Paisley’s critically acclaimed 2010 sophomore album Constant Companion, which received full marks in Rolling Stone and MOJO. Constant Companion garnered high praise from many more, including CBC Q, The New Yorker, SPIN, Exclaim!, and Pitchfork, who called the album, “…effortless and insightful, full of songs that draw you in with their peaceful, easy surface and then dump a big load of hurt on you.”

For Strong Feelings, legendary multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson (The Band) who also appeared on Constant Companion adds his signature keys to the new album. Other guests include Bahamas (aka Afie Jurvanen), bass sax player Colin Stetson (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver), Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo), Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang) and vocalist Mary Margaret O’Hara. Strong Feelings was produced by Stew Crookes and recorded at Noble Street Studio in Toronto and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with Hudson playing a Steinway piano that famously belonged to composer Glenn Gould.

Paisley’s music originates from a foundation of country and folk, but his style has gone far beyond the confines of either genre. The songs on Strong Feelings feature broader instrumentation than his previous work, but the fuller arrangements do not overshadow the depth of the songwriting.

the first Cult to ever be endorsed by CIGF, you too will fall under the pall of The Big Lovin’ charismatic pop guru & spiritual leader ‘Levi Lovell’

Stare, helpless as his hallowed mountain top pop gospel infects your unworthy ears……….crawling into your brain and down your nervous system – dragging your soul toward the blinding light of holy ecstasy!!!!!!

Although the only singer/musician in his immediate family, Daoirí (pronounced ‘Derry’) was introduced to the music at a very early age by his parents who shared a keen interest in artists such as Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Frank Harte, Planxty and The Bothy Band and more.  Daoirí took up music himself at the relatively late age of 16 and only started to perform at 23, but he has come a long way since then and the early release of his accomplished debut album ‘The First Turn’, which he recorded in 2009 while studying music on the Ceoiltoir Higher National Diploma in Irish Traditional Music Performance course, in Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE), Dublin.

‘The First Turn, could well prove to be a winner for Daoirí Farrell’ Irish Music Magazine

Following the release of ‘The First Turn’, Daoirí took an extended break from recording to pursue a degree in Applied Music at Dundalk’s Institute of Technology, followed by an MA in Music Performance at the World Academy of Music in the University of Limerick.

Since Daoirí’s return to the stage, he has regularly performed in the many singing circles and folk clubs around Ireland, from Dublin’s famous Góilin singers club to the All-Ireland Fleadh to name but a few.  He has performed alongside some of the biggest names in Irish and international folk music including Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Alan Doherty, Danú, Dervish, Julie Fowlis, The Young’uns, Paddy Keenan Trio, Matt Molloy, Arty McGlynn, The John Carty Big Band, The East Pointers, Kíla, Sean Keane, Gerry O’Connor (Banjo), Gerry O’Connor (Fiddle), Alan Burke, Lynched and more.

He became the All Ireland Champion Singer at the Fleadh in Co. Derry in 2013 and won the Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections in 2015 with the line-up FourWinds.

He has continued to gain in stature among the Irish folk-singing circuit, and has toured in numerous line-ups throughout Ireland and beyond, including dates in France, Germany, America, Canada and India, with his UK launch as a solo artist taking place at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival in January 2016.

Daoirí is currently working on his second solo album, due out in autumn 2016, and will tour the UK in May 2016 – including support dates for Cara Dillon and Sam Carter – and November 2016, with festival dates confirmed for this year including Moseley Folk Festival, Broadstairs Folk Week, Costa Del Folk and FolkEast.

DAVID WILL BE SPECIAL GUEST TO GLEN HANSARD UNDER THE BIG TOP AT THE SHOWGROUNDS CLONAKILTY ON TUESDAY 18TH OF SEPTEMBER

David Keenan is a twenty four year old Irish songwriter whose words seem to walk a fine line between poetry and prose with a voice that grabs you by the scruff and takes you by the hand into his world of imagination.

Inspired by escapism and lyrical greats such as Yeats, Kavanagh, Dylan and Cohen he embodied the role of a down and outs young apprentice and scoured the streets of Liverpool and London for experience before taking his notes and embryonic ideas back home to dissect. In Keenan the Irish storytelling tradition is alive and well and his live performances are both spiritual and intense in equal measure. 2017 saw David release his first single Cobwebs through Barrack Street Records with a video directed by Myles O’Reilly.

Cobwebs “This stopped me dead in my tracks”** Hozier**

David Keenan is one of our best he is extraordinary, it’s our duty to support fine talent when we hear it, see it, experience it ” Glen Hansard

“David has it all,voice,guitar playing,lyrics,he’s a master of all three.Instead of Patrick Kavanagh and Luke Kelly what springs to mind and life for me is Van the Man and Kavanagh with a luscious lilt,growing like a wildflower,sublime” Damien Dempsey

“The first time I heard David Keenan I knew he had something special….a lyricism and musical wisdom that most artists can only dream of. David not only dreams of it, he does t for real. A gifted Singer-Songwriter who has pulled me right in, right where I want to be. It’s a beautiful place”-Fiachna Ó Braonáin Hothouse Flowers

Not just another young lad with an acoustic guitar, Keenan is the sound of Tim Buckley and Brendan Behan arguing over a few jars, while Kavanagh deals Dylan a suspicious hand of cards, and Anthony Cronin and Jack Kerouac furiously try to scribble it all down.Pat Carty Hotpress Magazine

“The 24 year old with the brooding aura, intense gaze and floppy haircut is difficult to figure out but it’s indisputable that he is a excellent songwriter, mature beyond his years with a natural talent for that storytelling tradition” The Sunday Times

<<TICKETS ONSALE NOW ONLINE & AT DEBARRAS>>

INTERFERENCE WILL PERFORM A VERY SPECIAL SHOW WITH GLEN HANSARD UNDER THE BIG TOP IN THE SHOW GROUNDS IN CLONAKILTY ON WED 19TH OF SEPTEMBER – TICKETS HERE! 

Interference are a group centred around singer-songwriter, poet and painter, Fergus O’Farrell. Citizen of the world, & former resident in God’s own country, West Cork, Ferg has since left this mortal coil but his memories, music & friendships live on….

Interference on the night will include Paul Tiernan on acoustic guitar and vocals, Maurice Seezer on accordion and piano, James O’Leary on electric guitar, Anto on guitar, drums and percussion and John Fitzgerald on bass and piano & some very special guests including Glen Hansard and more to be announced….

About
Interference is the cult Irish band based around singer-songwriter Fergus O’Farrel. Their sound has influenced a generation of Irish musicians (including Frames/Swell Season front man Glen Hansard), and are featured in the hit movie musical Once

Biography
One of the charms of the hit Irish movie ONCE was the way it, without fuss, put the songs on centre-stage, allowing them to breathe and fill the space in front of the camera lens. The film is very much about the role music plays in peoples’ lives; how it inhabits the space in and around different people, pushing and pulling them into contact – bridging the gap.

Amidst the brilliant performances by the main characters, played by the Swell Season duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, there’s a spine-tingling moment, set at a low-key party, when a group of musicians centred around an unassuming man with an extra-ordinary voice play a song called Gold. The song swoops and sways, its poetry merging effortlessly with the sound, creating a glittering, warm gift. It’s a moment when the musicians merge into the music; to paraphrase Yeats, ‘how can we know the dancer from the dance?’.

Jump back to Dublin in the late ’80s and early ’90s and you’ll realise why it’s so fitting that there’s an interference song in the heart of this musical. Initially formed in school, by O’Farrell and guitarist James O’Leary, Interference grew and took shape in a Dublin where most bands and record labels were trying to imitate the sound and success of U2. Interference were different and intriguing.

For starters there was the fact that they lived in an old shoe factory! A big space, where jam sessions developed naturally, with a core band being joined by various other local musicians. Their mxing of styles and sounds puzzled record companies, but built them up a steady following on the local live circuit, and amongst the audience at any gig were serious musicians in their own right – members of The Frames, The Mary Janes, Hothouse Flowers amongst others.

With a growing fanbase and support from the likes of DJ Dave Fanning – Ireland’s answer to John Peel, who remarked of the Interference that they were the only Irish band he couldn’t pigeonhole – things looked promising for the band, but for one reason or another no major label record company was interested in the band. While he’s keen to downplay it, the fact that band frontman Fergus was in a wheelchair due to the effects of muscular dystrophy can’t have helped (he was told, off the record, that record companies can market blindness, but not wheelchairs).

This left the band with little alternative but to go ahead and record their debut album on their own – setting up their own recording studio. Something that is now commonplace, but which was a rare thing indeed back in the 1990s. Their debut album, released finally in 1995 was a spectacular achievement. It was launched with the single Vinegar Girl, co-written by the track’s backing vocalist Glen Hansard. Typically, for the Interference, Hansard wasn’t the only guest, with musicians like Liam O’Maonlai and Planxty’s Donal Lunny participating.

This was pre-internet, and marketing a band required record-company support and/or regular gigging – something which O’Farrell’s health ruled out. By 1996, the band had run out of steam. O’Farrell moved back to his home-town of Schull, suffering what he now admits was a crisis of confidence – one which lasted a number of years.

An informal re-union gig in a pub in Schull in 2002, quickly followed by an invite to perform on a new TV show hosted by Hansard and produced by musician/film-maker Philip King, helped jolt O’Farrell out of despondency. The Interference performance on ‘Other Voices’ was remarkable, and such was the positive reaction that the band’s album was re-issued.

While working on new material, O’Farrell has steadily taken on more gigs over the last couple of years – including appearances at international festivals in both the Czech Republic and Italy.

Which brings us full circle back to ONCE. When the film was getting off the ground, Hansard and Carney got in touch with Fergus asking him if he would appear in the film singing Gold, a personal favourite. No-one, least of all Fergus, could have anticipated the success that the film would have.

Skip forward to May 2008, and O’Farrell and Interference are on stage in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, playing along side the Swell Season, the band formed by Frames frontman Hansard and the co-star of the film Marketa Irglova. Head over to www.interference.ie and you can catch a glimpse of that magical moment when the two bands joined together that night to perform a rousing rendition of Gold together.

GLEN HANSARD WILL PERFORM 2 SHOWS AT THIS YEARS CLONGUITARFEST

<<TICKETS ONSALE NOW ONLINE & AT DEBARRAS>>

THE FIRST WILL BE A SOLO SHOW UNDER THE BIG TOP IN THE SHOWGROUNDS CLONAKILTY ON TUES 18TH OF SEPTEMBER W/ GUESTS DAVID KEENAN & MORE –TICKETS HERE!

THE SECOND SHOW WILL BE AS A GUEST TO INTERFERENCE UNDER THE BIG TOP IN THE SHOWGROUNDS CLONAKILTY ON WED 19TH OF SEPTEMBER – TICKETS HERE!

Marking his third solo album, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard released Between Two Shores on January 19, 2018 via Anti-. Following up 2015’s GRAMMY nominated Didn’t He Ramble, and his 2012 solo debut Rhythm and Repose, the ten-track collection was produced by Hansard himself for the first time. The culmination of more than six years of writing and recording, Between Two Shores came together in only a matter of weeks.

This past March, Hansard booked himself time at Black Box Studios in France with the original idea of taking inventory of his songbook. Working again with former Frames bandmate and producer David Odlum, Hansard was in search of a direction for his next record.  As he trove through his previous sessions, various ideas and home recordings, a sketch of an unplanned record began to take shape.

The aptly titled “Setting Forth” became the catalyst for the direction Hansard hoped to achieve with Between Two Shores.  Recorded with drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade and members of his Fellowship Band the song tackles themes of self-doubt in a time when it’s impossible not to be riddled with uncertainty.  The album’s lead track “Time Will be the Healer” is a hopeful plea to a forlorn lover that also speaks to the way forward in the current social climate.  Indeed, it would be impossible not to in some way address the politics of the day, which Hansard does in “Wheels on Fire” and its refrain of “We will overcome!”

While the record truly came together in France, Between Two Shores features material captured in New York and Chicago with a revolving cast of musicians.  In addition to Blade, the record also features Thomas Bartlett, Brad Albetta and Rob Moose who appeared on much of Rhythm and Repose.  However it’s Glen’s touring band – Joseph Doyle, Rob Bochnik, Graham Hopkins, Justin Carroll, Michael Buckley, Ronan Dooney and Curtis Fowlkes – that feature most prominently and take center stage on tracks like the upbeat E Street shuffle of “Roll On Slow” and the Van-tastic “Why Woman.”

The album’s title comes from Hansards ongoing love of sailing and the sea.  When one is equal distance between their starting point and their destination they are in essence “between two shores.”  A less than ideal time to wonder whether you should turn back or continue on, but a thought that inevitably rears its head.

With Between Two Shores Hansard has managed to capture that feeling of the big soulful sound of his large touring band while still retaining the intimate introspective nature of his acoustic shows.  To which way the wind will blow on his next record remains to be seen.

Hansard is a founding member of The Frames who celebrated 25 years as a band in 2015. He is one half of The Swell Season, which also features pianist Marketa Irglova.  Together in 2007 they wrote the music for and starred in the movie Once.  The song “Falling Slowly” from the film was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original song.  In 2013 the film was adapted for Broadway as Once, The Musical, winning eight Tony Awards including the top musical prize itself and an Olivier award in London for outstanding achievement in music.