Sive is a songwriter and musician dubbed ‘one of the most inspiring and exciting artists of our time’ by Female First UK. Her album The Roaring Girl was released with the support of a hugely successful crowd-funding campaign in 2017 and following its release she earned her stripes as a live act, touring extensively across Ireland and beyond and winning the audience choice vote to perform on RTE’S Other Voices. Her latest album We Begin in Darkness was released on VETA Music in 2022 to critical acclaim across the board; it was named Album of the Week on BBC Radio’s Late Show, received a 9/10 review in Hot Press Magazine and was described as ‘hugely impressive’ by Paul McLoone on RTE Arena. She is currently working on her next release: a commission to compose a song cycle celebrating the legacy of Brigid the saint and the goddess. Possessing a unique and dynamic vocal, and having studied finger-style guitar under renowned players including William Coulter, Sarah McQuaid and Alan Colfer, Sive has carved a truly compelling style of alt-folk that makes for a beguiling live show.
Seamie O Dowd is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who also plays fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, and a number of other instruments.
He has travelled worldwide playing music and has shared stages and played with many great musicians and bands including the following;
Mairtin O’Connor, Cathal Hayden, Christy Moore, Declan Synott, The Chieftains, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy Emmanuel, Dervish, Steve Wickham, Matt Molloy, Liam O’ Flynn, Thom Moore, Dick Gaughan, Cathy Jordan, Rick Epping, Kieran Quinn, John Joe Kelly, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Cathal Roche.
His experience also includes recording production, teaching and more recently, film soundtrack work, and encompasses solo performance as well as extensive work with bands and small groups as both a member and a session musician.
Biography
Seamie O Dowd is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who also plays fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, and a number of other instruments.
He has travelled worldwide playing music and has shared stages and played with many great musicians and bands including the following; Mairtin O’Connor, Cathal Hayden,
Christy Moore, Declan Synott, The Chieftains, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy Emmanuel, Dervish, Steve Wickham, Matt Molloy, Liam O’ Flynn, Thom Moore, Dick Gaughan, Cathy Jordan, Rick Epping, Kieran Quinn, John Joe Kelly, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Cathal Roche.
His experience also includes recording production, teaching and more recently, film soundtrack work, and encompasses solo performance as well as extensive work with bands and small groups as both a member and a session musician.
Seamie’s public musical experience spans four decades. He made his first radio appearance at the age of ten on a Radio Eireann programme called Young Musicians and began playing publicly with his father, the renowned Sligo fiddle player Joe O’Dowd at around the same time.
He has been a tutor at the South Sligo Summer School in Tubbercurry, Co.Sligo on a regular basis since its beginnings in the late 1980s, teaching fiddle for six of its first seven years and teaching traditional guitar since the mid 2000s up to the present day.
He was awarded The Freedom Of The Borough in 2004 by Sligo Corporation while a member of internationally renowned traditional group Dervish and acknowledged again in 2010 at a civic reception given by the Mayor of Sligo for his personal contribution to the cultural life of the area.
He also worked with film score composer George Fenton in London’s Abbey Road Studios on part of the film score of Jimmy’s Hall, a film made by Ken Loach in the Sligo/ Leitrim area.
As part of the Masters of Irish Music project devised by Martin Hayes, he, along with Mairtin O’Connor and Cathal Hayden played the group’s concerts in the Sydney Opera House as well as a flagship performance at the Lincoln Centre in New York.
He also joined the project on three US tours.
He played and recorded with Dervish for six years, during which time he played with them at the legendary Rock in Rio festival in Brazil.
He was nominated for the Best Folk Musician award in 2018 in RTE’s inaugural Irish Folk Awards.
PRESS QUOTES
“A revelation of style and panache..” Irish Times.
“Seamie’s blues guitar driven folk tunes have a timelessness that speaks to everyone” Xpress Magazine, Perth, Australia
“…a master of many genres..” Irish Music Magazine
“….a hugely impressive musician and singer..” Irish Music Review
“….a voice steeped in grit conviction..” Irish Echo, New York.
“ His performance included tracks which testify to his extraordinary versatility across music genres..” The Irish World, London.
“Put simply, this man is a genius… every note is laden with conviction and passion.” Fatea .
“..wonderfully quirky and fresh…” The Journal Of Music, Ireland,
Rostislav Mazurkevich is a Ukrainian songwriter, singer and guitarist from Odessa. A young and talented bard with a piercing voice, gentle romantic ballads and exciting rock and roll songs.
“This is a turning point in my life: I am 30 years old, and despite the songwriting experience during 10 years, I did not dare to release my songs, was constantly looking for suitable musicians, arrangers, moving from city to city, writing hundreds of different songs, even selling songs for other singers…
And at some point I realized that the matter was not in the shell, but in myself, in my soul and in the desire to speak honestly through my poetry and music. Performing and releasing songs with just the guitar is an ancient minstrel magic that will always be coveted by the people. This year I will fulfill my dream and the dream of those who have been waiting for my music for years. In autumn I will release my first album.
Thanks to the festival for the trust, it is exciting to be in the company of amazing musicians”
A vocal harmony duo fifteen years in the making, Moors & McCumber have done more than just endear themselves to fans – they’ve built a genuine community. Bridging the gap between classic folk rock and present day Americana, they write heartfelt songs directly inspired by life’s experiences. With their latest record, 2021’s ‘Survival,’ they have created some of their most compelling work to date.
The sound of Moors & McCumber is adventurous, eclectic, and endlessly creative. Borrowing from rock, pop, blues, folk, and world music, the two multi-instrumentalists defy common logic and embrace spontaneity to bring their stories and songs to life. Their strong vocal harmonies and unconventional instrumentation combine to create a mesmerizing experience. At the center of it all is their evocative songwriting.
While “more than the sum of their parts” has become a bit of a cliche, there is no better phrase to describe Moors & McCumber. James is a gifted singer and songwriter, while Kort specializes in creating vocal harmonies and captivating arrangements through inventive instrumentation. With their voices combined, they create a truly special sound. As Grammy award-winning producer Lloyd Maines says, “They bring it all to the stage and deliver in a big way.”
“There are very few musicians on the planet who can actually strike me speechless with the beauty and skill of their playing. Jon Gomm is one of those musicians.” – Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God)
Jon Gomm is a singer-songwriter and acoustic solo performer based in Yorkshire, UK, known for his once-seen-never-forgotten virtuoso guitar style. This involves slapping, tapping and retuning as he plays, producing a huge, multi-layered sound filled with bass, drums and near-orchestral depth and complexity, all from a single guitar.
His songs are often deeply emotive, whether with or without his soft, affecting voice. And his live performances are intimate and powerful, but always punctured by his natural North Of England wit and self-deprecation.
Jon is also a passionate advocate for mental health and neuro-diversity.
“Jon, you are a genius man, I LOVE your music and playing!” – Steve Lukather (Toto)
“Wonderful guitar playing. An all-round genius” – Stephen Fry (actor, writer) speaking about Jon Gomm on The One Show (BBC, UK)
John Spillane returns to Clonakilty International Guitar Festival this year as a participant of the Acoustic Forum Hosted by George Lowden on Fri 22nd of September and then again on Sunday where John Spillane & the Band of Wrens will perform as part of the legendary guitartown Session trail!
John Spillane is a musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, storyteller, poet and dreamer. Rooted in people, place and story, his music transports the listener and his live performances captivate audiences around the world.
After his acclaimed release of 100 Snow White Horses in 2021, in October 2022, John will released ‘In Another Light’ a career spanning album recorded live at the Right Here Right Now Festival recorded at Cork Opera House in November 2021.
Jessie Lloyd is a Songkeeper. An Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait singer, social historian and cultural practitioner of Indigenous song and founder of her award-winning Mission Songs Project. As a cultural ambassador, Lloyd takes audiences on a profoundly-moving musical journey into the depths and diversity of Australia’s Aboriginal culture, history and identity.
Jessie’s work continues the songlines of Aboriginal Australian, a body of traditional songs that carries the 60,000-year history of the world’s oldest living culture. She engages her audiences through intimate storytelling, moving harmonies and historical insights, using her humour and truth to share the voices of her elders, just as they would around a warm campfire or kitchen table.
Since graduation from Abmusic – Aboriginal Music College in Perth in 2002, Jessie and performed and toured across Australia and the globe. Singing in various bands and choirs throughout her career and now producing her own themed shows and music projects. As an experienced arts administrator and music producer, her first passion is singing and performing the songs of her people.
I Dreamed I Dream are a genre-blending five-piece band from Cork. Consisting of Julie Landers on vocals and drums, Claire Aherne on vocals and bass, Niamh Hayes on keys and Elle Kelleher and Laura Dineen sharing guitar duties, they are influenced by everything ranging from shoegaze and dreampop to classic girl groupsÂ
Described by the Evening Echo/Examiners Mike McGrath-Bryan as “emerging experimentalists” and with a “healthy disregard for musical convention”, IDID are fast becoming one of Ireland’s most captivating bands.
“(Eoghan has) a creative streak on par with some of this country’s greatest-ever songwriters. The lyrics of The Deepest Breath are proof and testament to that. Incredibly powerful words which not unlike the great Liam Weldon, are words that belong to and represent the working people. Words of hope for the overlooked and hard done by.” – Myles O’Reilly
“Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin has a wondrously sonorous voice” – Irish News
“…once you hear his voice, you’re unlikely to forget it” – Folk Radio UK
EOGHAN Ó CEANNABHÁIN
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin is a Dublin-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical roots are in sean-nós singing – the style of his father – and he grew up listening to the likes of Sorcha Ní Ghuairim, Seán ‘ac Dhonncha, Colm Ó Caoidheáin and other greats from the tradition. He is also influenced by folk singers from the English language tradition such as Liam Weldon, Luke Kelly, Anne Briggs, Margaret Barry and Thomas McCarthy.
Eoghan has performed and recorded with a number of different bands, including Dublin-based Skipper’s Alley, Irish/Scottish/Manx Gaelic collaboration Aon Teanga: Un Chengey and folk/electronica band Jiggy. He also collaborates with Clare fiddle and viola player Ultan O’Brien. Their debut album Solas an Lae won best album at the RTÉ Folk Awards in 2021.
Over the past few years, Eoghan has come into his own as a solo artist and songwriter. His songs – written in both English and Irish – build on his sean-nós singing foundations but combine hard-hitting lyrics with other musical influences to create a rich, contemporary sound. He recently released his debut solo album, ‘The Deepest Breath’.
For this intimate live show, Eoghan will be joined by Ian Kinsella on guitar & vocals; and Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz on cello & vocals.
“The lyrics and beauty of Elly’s songs are wondrous. Her music touches your soul. The ups and downs of life and the feelings that are thrown up are captured by Elly’s poignant and deep-rooted lyrics, brought to life by her amazingly powerful and deeply- melodic voice- sweet and beautiful, while also penetrating your heart and mind. Elly is also an excellent musician, accomplished on both the guitar and piano. She is a songwriter par excellence. This is a woman who is a specialist in her craft.” – Tom Niall