Junior Brother is 24 year-old Co. Kerry, Ireland native Ronan Kealy, who fuses elements of Irish and English folk with a deeply unique and progressive sensibility.
Born outside Killarney, Co. Kerry, Kealy developed a strong love of music from an early age, writing his first song at 9 years old after having taught himself guitar on a banged-up nylon acoustic.
With the crucial addition of foot tambourine to his musical set-up, Kealy in a live setting creates complex fingerstyle picking patterns which blend with unique tambourine rhythms and richly lyrical wordplay, creating with each performance a singular and deeply memorable live experience.
At just 24, Calum Graham has already enjoyed a career that would be the envy of most artists twice his age. The Alberta-based guitarist and singer/songwriter has released five acclaimed albums, won major national music competitions, performed at the Olympic Games in both Vancouver and London, racked up some phenomenal views on YouTube, and was recently named one of the top 30 guitarists in the world under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Born in British Columbia and raised in High River, Alberta, Graham’s musical journey first took flight when he began playing the guitar at the age of 13. Five years later in the summer of 2010, Graham attended the Canadian Guitar Festival and entered the prestigious Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. Impressed with his original compositions, the judges awarded Graham with a first place finish; a feat no other teenager has accomplished in the history of the festival. The clip of his winning performance has now generated almost 1 million hits on YouTube.
As Calum Graham’s name continued to grow in Alberta and across Canada for his guitar work and musicianship, Graham proved that his talent was not limited to his extraordinary ability to play the guitar. In 2011, Graham won the Canada’s Walk of Fame nationwide “A Song For Canada” contest based on his poetic acuteness. His winning poem was used in the song “I’m Here, (A Song For Canada)”. The song was performed by Chantal Kreviazuk and co-written by Graham, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and Stephen Moccio (“I Believe”, 2010 Vancouver Olympics theme song/”Wrecking Ball” – Miley Cyrus)”.
“Calum’s entry resonated strongly among the judges. His poem celebrates the cultural mosaic that is Canada. He has captured the diversity of this country – something that we as a nation are renowned for and proud of.” – Stephan Moccio
In the late winter of 2012, and with two albums already under his belt, Graham teamed up with iconic Fingerstyle Guitarist Don Ross. The result was an instrumental acoustic duet album titled, “12:34”. Recorded at famed ‘Metalworks Studios’ (Toronto, ON), and released through CandyRat Records, the album featured six originals by Graham, three by Ross, and a cover of the OutKast hit song, “Hey Ya!”
In November of 2013, Graham released a solo instrumental album titled “Phoenix Rising” (CandyRat Records). The title track has already generated over 2.5 million views on YouTube, with other songs also notching impressive numbers. The success of the album enabled Graham to expand his global fanbase and he soon began touring internationally, both on his own and with the likes of Don Ross and Andy McKee.
With Graham bringing an innovative sound to the industry, it wasn’t long before Canada’s top booking agency ‘The Feldman Agency’ also counted themselves a fan of Graham’s music. So much in fact, that in July 2014, they decided to partner Graham with renowned Canadian producer Gavin Brown (Billy Talent, Metric, The Tragically Hip) on his “Sessions X” series. The series was recorded at Toronto’s Five-Star ‘Noble Street Studios’ and features Graham alongside a number of acclaimed musicians including; Tears For Fears, Feist, Three Days Grace, Metric, and Ron Sexsmith.
In September 2014, Graham teamed up with IMAX composer Steve Wood to write the musical score for ‘Humpbacks’, an underwater 3D adventure documentary for IMAX and other giant screen theatres. Narrated by acclaimed actor Ewan McGregor, the film is directed by Greg MacGillivray (“The Living Sea”, “Everest”), presented in association with Pacific Life and was released February 13, 2015 to IMAX theatres worldwide.
In April of 2016, Calum released ‘Tabula Rasa’ – which features his already developed guitar virtuosity, and introduces his smooth, soulful vocals for the very first time. Produced by world-renowned fingerstyle guitarist Antoine Dufour, ‘Tabula Rasa’ was funded by a very successful kickstarter campaign from fans across the world.
Calum is currently working on releasing new videos in the coming months on his YouTube channel, and continues to tour throughout Canada, the USA, and Europe.
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country’s swashbuckling, pseudo-legendary pioneers of the Amerikindasorta style of string band music, Vinegar Creek Constituency channels the venerable old ghosts of American folk music tradition through imaginative, emotive original songs delivered with rock n roll intensity. Full of shouting, floorboard- stomping soul, their live performances are uplifting, high-energy events with fans dancing in the aisles and clapping, stomping, and singing along.
The musicians of Vinegar Creek Constituency come from diverse musical backgrounds that range from formal Classical performance to experimental, police-summoning garage Rock to traditional Old Time Appalachian string band music to Gypsy Jazz. Consequently, the bandâ€TMs sound draws on elements of many styles, including high-octane bluegrass, Sun Records-era rock’n’roll, early swing, vaudeville, outlaw country, and ragtime.
Vinegar Creek Constituency was assembled in 2005 by Lancaster Pennsylvania singer/ songwriter Leo DiSanto, then fronting an obscure rock band called The False Bottoms, who spent most of their offstage time recording noises and drinking heroic quantities of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer in a suburban garage.
After a few years of sporadic performances, in May 2008 VCC traveled to Cumberland, MD performing in and winning the first annual Delfest band competition and providing a catalyst for the band’s growing creative energy and commitment.
VCC has released four studio albums of all original material to date- The Vinegar Creek Constituency (released 2008); Angel of the Last Waltz (2010); Don’t Go Back In Time (2013); and Amerikindasorta (2018). They frequently perform in clubs, pubs, theaters, festivals, street corners, living rooms, and venues of all sorts in a continuously-expanding range throughout the US and Europe as the full 5-piece band or in a stripped down duo or trio configuration.
Northern Irish experimental folk songwriter and producer Joshua Burnside is something of a regional anomaly. With a brooding, powerful sound echoing artists of places afar and time long gone, his enthralling craft defies local comparison in striving towards an aesthetic as much as visual as it is sonic. Recorded at home in Lisbane, Co. Down, his new single ‘Black Dog Sin’ is the current distillation of his increasingly unmistakable approach; a fragile, yet ultimately commanding, chamber folk sound gloriously underpinned with unique zeal.
While 2017 wrapped up with Joshua winning the Northern Irish Music Prize , 2018 began with NPR choosing the young folk musician as ‘100 of the artists to watch at this years SXSW festival.
QUOTES:
‘Rumbling, brooding, powerful, magnetic’ – The Irish Times
‘There’s an indefinable quality and charm to Joshua Burnside’s debut’ – The Sunday Times
‘It makes you glad to have a pair of working ears’ – Phil Taggart, BBC Radio 1
‘It is an endless adventure, a record that won’t tire, such is the depth and scope of what you hear’ – Daily Mirror
‘Dynamic and wide ranging in scope but stands as a complete and focused work. The end result is a triumph’ – Chordblossom
Honest songs for honest people. This is the mission statement of Anna’s Anchor, the brainchild of Limerick born musician Marty Ryan, which was created during the summer of 2014. What began as a solo, indie/emo project taking influences from the likes of American Football, Rites of Spring & Fugazi, has since blossomed into a full band affair that has played over 200 shows across 11 countries with a slew of releases including 2016’s debut album Nautical Miles which was released on Struggletown Records.
Anna’s Anchor’s strong DIY ethic and efforts to push the boundaries of creativity was first put on full display in the national eye with the 2015 release entitled “The Islands”. Anna’s Anchor embarked on an eight week journey visiting eight different islands, performing eight memorable gigs, and writing eight unique songs. This was the challenge that brought Marty to some of the remote and harshest environments of Ireland on a song writing adventure like no other. Combining the adventure of touring off the beaten track with writing, recording and releasing a song about the experience each week, this project gained national acclaim in Ireland.
In September 2016, Anna’s Anchor released its debut LP on Struggletown Records (UK) and Never Meant Records (Ire) to critical acclaim. The 10 highly charged songs bearing immense emotional weight have given Anna’s Anchor the chance to tour the album across Ireland, the U.K,mainland Europe & America. As for 2018, with a new album on the way, the road beckons for Marty and his crew as they travel by land, air and sea to ensure everyone hears this fabulous record.
“There’s something inherently beautiful about the work ethic of Anna’s Anchor.” – Already Heard.com
“There’s something very special about ‘Nautical Miles’. The songs come to life at each turn, and the labour of love that Ryan has poured into Anna’s Anchor shines through.” Punktastic.com
In 2008, the core trio that make up Woven Skull began gathering together in the home of two of the members, set deep in the bogs and forests of County Leitrim: an empty, sparse area in the northwest of Ireland known for its myths of banshees and tales of lake monsters. Several years experimenting with combinations of instrumentation, kitchen utensils, seashells, footsteps, chimes, recordings of cats purring and frogs mating led to their current sound which combines densely propulsive guitar, distorted mandola and endless cyclical rhythms. Woven Skull strip and scrape what they can out of minimal instrumentation to teeter on the brink of total sonic meltdown creating engulfing, raw primal drones and damaged rock manoeuvres; the result of which has often been described as the traditional music of a self-imagined land. This sound draws on the influences of the combined backgrounds of the trio with Aonghus (guitar) and Willie (percussion) born and bred in Dublin and Natalia (mandola) born in Ukraine and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Beaten through strings and blasted through amplifiers in a live setting, the group (whose members can swell from 3 to 4 or 6 or 10) meld repetitions that spiral through each other to create multiple layers of beautiful but harsh entrapments.
Along the way Woven skull have collaborated with such artists as Daniel Higgs, Mike Gangloff, Neil Campbell, Core of the Coalman and Paul leBrecque among others. Many of these collaborations have been documented on limited cassette and cdr releases.
They have also played on line ups alongside Richard Dawson, Six Organs of Admittance, Eternal Tapestry, Circuit Des Yeux and Liturgy to name but a few.
The band tour extensively, embarking on at least two tours of the UK, Ireland and main-land Europe annually alongside a number one-off festival dates.
PRESS
“Woven Skull’s edge comes from their ability to rock without rocking, squeezing unexpected sounds from their relatively minimal setup (they don’t appear to do much when it comes to effects pedals). Woven Skull always manage to feel their way into some dead trippy corners”-The Quietus
“the trio skitter confidently in a roving trance across loose ragas, spliced field recordings and a range of exotic wind and percussion, creating an atmosphere that nicely cushions sections of more intensive kosmiche meditation”-Decoder magazine
“the band recall the ramshackle anthems of Exuma and the spirited improv of Six Organs Of Admittance, suggesting that without furious discipline they can make very beautiful sounds. It’s within them to make pretty music, but for the most part Lair Of The Glowing Bantling sounds like it’s shaking itself from nightmare to existence.”-Norman Records
“Maybe it’s because Woven Skull have recorded stuff in dark haunted woods and the attics of abandoned houses that has lent them such an otherworldly air. Or maybe it’s because they’ve spent years experimenting with recordings of cats purring and frogs mating that have given them their edge, but whatever it is they’ve piqued interest far beyond Ireland. Using mandolins, guitars and drums, their latest album is a trip in every sense of the world, taking listeners on a wild ride into some polyrhythmic pastures” -The Crack magazine
“ it’s so beautiful it makes my withered old heart soar. I love these people and I love their music and the world is just immeasurably better for having Woven Skull in it.” -Narc magazine
“Ireland’s Woven Skull are another level of magnificent blasted noise altogether, through distorted guitar, stripped-down drum kit, mandola and viola lock into a discordant mantra with an eastern edge, building and building and building some more, until you’re swept up in something truly transcendental………It’s absolutely fucking incredible, folk music at it’s most irregular, from the demonic mandola solo that flashed in and out of a wall of feedback, to the best drum solo ever played on just a floor tom and a cymbal.” -Nightshift magazine
Fundraiser for the improvement of the Clonakilty playground
Formed in 2012 and performing sporadically along the Munster coastline Fir Beag are a West Cork collective of musicians that emerge every once in a while from the ocean, salt crusted & sea weed draped. Their sound is musical, evocative and uplifting, combining multiple harmonies, lyrical hooks and flights of instrumental whimsy.
Flirting with elements of folk, trad, raggae, rock and punk their experimental sound is propped up with the use of ambient noises in soulful, catchy, and sometimes raging melodies. Fiddles, drums, guitars and vocals naturally weave together to create a captivating experience.
MICKEY MURPHY is a contemporary fingerstyle guitarist and composer from County Down, N. Ireland. Following on from the success of his first solo instrumental album ‘Turais’ (2011) he has recently released his much anticipated second CD ‘Heartstrings’, which was produced by the legendary Tom Newman (‘Tubular Bells’).
A keen performer, Mickey regularly plays at clubs and festivals in his native Ireland and has also played in England, Scotland, France, Austria, Italy, Germany and Morocco.
Mickey is also a well respected teacher and has taught many hundreds of guitarists over the years in various schools and workshops and teaches at the prestigious Thomas Leeb Acoustic Guitar Bootcamp every July in Austria which attracts students from all
over of world.
‘A very modest fellow and a very welcome guest on guitar festivals across Europe’ Akustik Gitarre (Berlin)
‘If you enjoy guitar music, then you will fall in love with “Turais” by Mickey Murphy. Throughout this enchanting CD you can hear the master guitarist that Mickey is!’
The Celtic Crier
‘an absolutely fantastic album’
Stuart Ryan (Guitar Techniques magazine)
‘some beautiful jazz phrasing mixed with contemporary folk sounds’
‘Rude Mood’ are a tribute band to the late Texas guitarist, ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan.’
The tribute band was originally a three piece from West Cork/Ballincollig, but soon became a bigger ensemble of nine.
Now with more guitars, a full brass section, more rhythm and timbre, this band is a real force to be reckoned with.
Covering all tunes from his classics to B Sides, ‘Pride and Joy,’ & ‘Crossfire’ to ‘Life Without You’ & ‘Texas Flood.’ The band is fun and entertaining.
Stevie was hugely influenced by Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Wonder, tunes such as Voodoo Chile, Hey Joe and Superstition have many flavours of Stevie’s approach to guitar.