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Since immigrating to the United States from Scotland in 2014, Lorkin O’Reilly has been making a name for himself as a commanding new songwriting talent. His unique transatlantic approach blends old-country inspired open tunings similar to that of Bert Jansch, Nike Drake and Dick Gaughan with direct and personal reflections and poetry. His writing portrays not only his own reality, but experiences faced by most of us: the purgatory between childhood and adulthood, between new home and old home and finally the overarching struggle of finding a new identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1994, Lorkin’s early musical education was heavily steeped in the sounds of his mother’s native Ireland. Those early influences are heard throughout his work on tracks like “Alba,” “When The Days Cool Down,” and “Tuttles Reel.”
In 2014 Lorkin moved to upstate New York to work on a farm. In the basement of the farmhouse he found an old acoustic guitar and began writing, resulting in his first E.P., After The Thaw. Recorded in a single day on two-inch tape, After The Thaw is a small body of work that tastefully sets the stage for what would become his debut album, Heaven Depends.
Heaven Depends is the result of late night-writing sessions in the kitchen after long days working construction in Poughkeepsie N.Y. With songs that range from traditional reels to twanging Townes-esque imagery, the album is a musical representation of an immigrant’s journey. Using a multitude of instruments set against a backdrop of alternative tunings and fingerpicking “Heaven Depends” invites the listener on a complicated, yet ultimately beautiful journey.

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Having first come together in the autumn of 2016 on the basketball courts of a Dublin city park, the four members of Pillow Queens, soon realised that making music together would be an equally productive group activity. Cathy plays guitar and sings. Rachel plays drums and sings. Pam and Sarah swap guitar , bass and lead vocal duties. Within a few months they’d released their debut EP, Calm Girls, titled in an ironic nod to the bands anxious nature. The three songs dealt with themes of despair, crisis of self and distrust. The closing Wonderboys “an attempt to put into musical form the feeling you get when your eyes roll back into your head when faced with toxic masculinity.” The songs quickly found their way into the hearts of new fans in the local underground DIY scene, and even onto BBC 6music playlists, with Steve Lamacq calling them “deceptively infectious, with sharp hooks and sharp nails” . By the summer of 2017, the band were touring the UK and performing on festival stages.

Pillow Queens second EP, State of the State, will be released on March 9th 2018 on UK DIY label Specialist Subject.

While taking influence from artists from contemporary US DIY indie & punk scenes (such as Mitski, Waxahatchee, Hop Along, Cloud Nothings), Pillow Queens stay true to their Irish heritage, using Dublin colloquialisms in their lyrics and singing in thick Irish accents.

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

Paula Bilá, singer-songwriter from Cádiz, arrived in Madrid after five years developing her musical career in Ireland.

There she recorded and edited her first album, “Love and Hate”, where she has worked with Bill Shanley (Ray Davies), guitarist and producer on his first album, and with other musicians such as Liam Bradley (Van Morrison), Binzer Brennan (The Frames) and the Australian guitarist Stephen Housden.

The album, which was warmly received by both the press and the public, led her to tour different festivals in Ireland and Spain, as well as participating in festivals with an international reputation such as the Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada, in 2014.

Paula Bila returns now in Madrid to record and produce her second album with the help of great musicians from the international scene and under the direction of producer Manuel Sanz (Cosmosoul). An exciting new project that reflects his influences of folk, blues or black music.

Hanora George is baited and ready to catch some fish. Having released her debut EP in May 2016, George excited audiences to the point where she has had to undertake a ‘catch and release’ only policy for future expeditions. She is currently putting her heart and sole into her first album which will be released in May 2018.