George Lowden is a luthier based in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. He constructs steel and nylon string acoustic guitars by hand without any UV finishing as well as solid-body electric guitars.
The Lowden Story:
In the late 1980’s George Lowden accepted an invitation to visit the main Lowden dealer for Switzerland, Servette Music in Geneva. Upon his arrival, co-proprietor Yves Imer thanked George for coming, because some of the Lowden customers he was to meet had not realised he actually existed – they thought “George Lowden” was merely the figment of some marketing man’s imagination – a leprechaun, in fact!
This served to enlighten George to the principle that an ‘information vacuum’ will always be filled – sometimes benignly, sometimes bizarrely.So, for the record, HERE is the complete story of George Lowden and his guitars.
ADT writes stories of the heart wrapped in atmospheric soundscapes, and he describes his debut album ‘volume one’ as ‘a painting of emotional honesty.’
Produced by multi-instrumentalist, Justin Grounds, the album was recorded in a little room overlooking the beautiful town of Clonakilty, West Cork, and will be released at this year’s Clonakilty International Guitar Festival.
Hugely influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the West Cork landscape and his family, ADT admits to a minor obsession with lighthouses. He is also a member of renowned Irish band LOWmountain.
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.
Featuring: Gav O’Mhordha, Fear Beag, Armoured Bear, Justin Grounds
When singer songwriter and guitarist Eugene Brosnan moved back to Clonakilty in 2015, after an 18 year absence from the place he had called home in the ‘90s, he contacted bassist Martin Kingston and in their first conversation it was mooted that they might get a band together, mainly, as a vehicle for the songs of the late great American songwriter and composer, WARREN ZEVON, as they both share a love for his music.
They soon assembled a group of musicians, with equal enthusiasm for the INNOCENT BYSTANDER project and in the 18 months so far, they have played a number of full house gigs and a handful of festivals. The band has also extended their set to include some original songs that sit happily and snugly among the Headless Thomson Gunners, identity thieving Gorillas and the colours of Georgia O’ Keeffes…
Hailing from Clonakilty, Ireland, Eve Clague is a singer-songwriter who draws on the rich variety of music she grew up with in her home and community to create a highly personal and direct style of song writing.
With a band made up of well known players from Cork’s jazz and neo soul scene and featuring some of her own string arrangements, Eve’s debut EP Young Naive Me crosses genres very naturally in songs which centre around Eve’s acoustic guitar and deeply honest vocal style.
Since its release in April of 2019, the EP has received national radio play in Ireland as well as airplay on regional stations at home and in the UK, with reviews from a number of prominent blogs including Ireland’s nialler9.com, praising her distinctive voice and a timeless quality to the songwriting and arrangements.
Having left school at the age of 15, Eve has clocked up more hours as a working musician than most artist in their early twenties, touring nationally with a number of Cork based bands as a vocalist and sax player. However it was her enrolment in Corks school of music in 2014 which really gave Eve the time and space to develop her songwriting and collaborate with a huge range of like minded musicians. Having
graduated in October 2018, Eve wasted no time as she immediately began
work on recording Young Naive Me with her band at Wavefield Recording Studios.
David Christy Jones is a 28-year old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in West Cork, Ireland. Born in Wales to a musical family, he found himself surrounded by musicians playing from a young age. At 7 years old he relocated to Clonakilty, Ireland with his family.
On April 17th, 2021 David released his debut album – the nightmarish and one of a kind ‘Welcome To Virology’. Inspired by the blues and folk stars of old; modern contemporary rock and pop; classical music and the avante-garde – he has taken their recipes and added his own distinct flavour. His style is undoubtedly unique and fresh.
Since 2009, David has been an active and respected session drummer, bassist, guitarist, and vocalist and has played with countless acts across all genres. From jazz, blues, and folk to heavy metal, rap, and country. He has performed in many bands over numerous genres and toured in Europe, The UK, and the USA.
What are people saying about Welcome To Virology?
“The debut album by Cork’s David Christy Jones is as colourful and versatile as the new reality we are still trying to cope with. His debut album is a satiric, serious, and nihilist approach on how to survive this madness.”
-Mangorave
“An outstanding mixture of progressive rock, funk, rap and social critique, “Welcome To Virology” is an honest and majestic musical work from Irish eccentric multi-instrumentalist, David Christy Jones. It’s a broad expedition of witty lyrics and unconventional musical composition.” -Lessthan1000followers.com
“This material is an experimental masterpiece by all means.”
-punk-rocker.com”A sound that mixes Funky, Prog Rock and many other musical genres in a unique and original recipe. Lively, innovative songs that manage to keep you on tip of your chair from the first to the last second. A fantastic discovery that I recommend everyone to listen to with an open mind.” -edgarallenpoets.com
The brilliance of this album is that Jones goes all in. This assuredness and dedication in songwriting is wonderfully refreshing and reaps maximum reward in this instance.
It’s blatantly obvious from this record that we are dealing with an artist who is humming with creative energy and, most importantly, has the conviction to take that creativity to extreme places. -demarsmagazine.com
Sam and Les are a father and son guitar duo from Clonakilty. Les, originally from Liverpool, is an accomplished ragtime fingerpicking style guitarist and composer. While crafting this artform gigging and busking in Europe and living in Antwerp, he later moved to Clonakilty to settle down and started to study Flamenco.
When Sam was 11, he started to steal his fathers chops and started shredding his first electric guitar busking on the streets with his Dad in Cork and on family camping trips in France. His Jimmy Page obsession soon turned to Django Reinhardt and thus the Clague Brothers started to craft their own sound.
SurfSide 61 is a celebration of the golden age of instrumental guitar music.
Surf Music, as it was called in the USA, originated in Southern California in the early 60s along with the booming surfing craze.
In The UK a similar sound was happening led by The Shadows, who were hugely successful across the world with no less than 5 number one hits between 1960 and ’63.
Stephen Housden formed SurfSide61 to present authentic versions of the music that inspired him and a generation of guitarists.
Stephen toured the world for many years as a member of Little River Band. He has also has played along side many music greats including; Glen Frey, Christopher Cross, Dr. John, Warren Zevon, John Entwistle (The Who) and Albert Lee.
SurfSide 61: Stephen Housden; guitar, Dónal O’Sullivan; guitar, George Hart; bass guitar and Brian O’Higgins; drums.
The Church, led by electric guitar high priest Matt Churchill is an instrumental, brain exploding, wig out machine that comprises some of the finest session musicians in the country, every lick, chop and lead that Churchill unleashes causes synaptic explosions in the central nervous system!
Their shows are a rare event making their annual Clonakilty International Guitar Festival not only one of the highlights of the festival but a highlight of the YEAR!
Our own guitar master Bill Shanley is back for this year’s festival!
Bill will perform with Matty Gordon on Fri 15th September in Shanleys,
He will be the guest on the Live podcast The Point of Everything on Sat 23rd at 2pm in O Donovan’s Hotel & will also be ducking in and out of sessions for the day in Shanleys on the 23rd September!
Raised in the West Cork haven of Clonakilty in the renowned Shanley’s Music Bar, Bill was surrounded by pro musicians from a very young age. Bill’s father, Moss Shanley, a great piano player and entertainer immersed in the music of the 40’s and 50’s, encouraged Bill to sit in on gigs from an early age and was a great mentor to him in his formative years.
Noel Redding, of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, gave Bill his first guitar lessons and was a big part of Bill’s musical education, introducing him to early Rock and Roll and more. From his first guitar lessons with Noel at the age of nine they played hundreds of gigs together in Shanley’s Bar, joined on regular occasions by Mitch Mitchell, Tom Mc Guinness and Eric Bell.
Noel and Bill’s playing partnership culminated in a concert, together with Randy California, in the famous Olympic Theatre in Paris in 1990 to mark the 20th anniversary of Hendrix’s death, the same venue that the JME did their first ever gig in 1966.
In 1990, straight out of school, Bill moved to Dublin and established himself as a highly sought after guitarist both in the studio and live. Accompanying Eleanor McEvoy during the heady days of recording “A Woman’s Heart”, on the strength of which Eleanor and her band signed to Geffen Records in 1993, and becoming a key member of Mary Black’s band in 1995, remaining so today as musical director, and recording the Full Tide, Stories from the Steeples, Speaking with the Angels, Shine and more recently Mary Black sings Jimmy Mac albums.
Midnight Mission is Shanley’s most recent album and comprises original recordings inspired by the excitement and melodies of early electric guitar music, drawing on Bill’s world class guitar playing and ability to write great, timeless melodies. It features special guests Ray Davies and Paul Brady.
Session & Touring Guitarist, Producer…
Dublin based, Bill is one of Ireland’s top session and touring guitar players and producers. Bill has established himself internationally too, through touring and contributing to albums with Ray Davies, Paul Brady, Mary Black, Roy Harper, Gilbert O Sullivan, Alexandra Burke, Sinead O’Connor, Judy Collins to name a few.
Being an accompanist has always been of key interest to Bill, enjoying the great scope and limitless backdrop you can create as a player for the artist you’re working with. This skill was commented on in the Financial Times review of a Ray Davies show a the Royal Albert Hall –“Is there a finer sideman around? It’s unlikely…”