Live music returns to Westport Town Hall

WESTPORT Town Hall Theatre has announced a live indoor seated music event with renowned traditional Irish musicians David Munnelly and Shane McGowan.

Known on the music scene as Duo McGowan Munnelly, the lads enjoy mixing traditional Irish music with their own influences and compositions and their concerts are nothing short of epic.

The event will be staged live at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 28, with a seated, socially-distanced audience strictly limited to 50 in line with current government guidelines.

David Munnelly is from Belmullet and was reared in a very musical home, learning first hand from his grandmother who taught him a love of traditional music and in particular the love for accordion and melodeon music. He is known for his colourful style which inhales bold bass fingerings, complex arrangements and modern compositions, exhaling hints of the Roaring '20s coupled with a masterful knack for letting a tune take its own time for a completely unmistakable and brilliant sound.

This unique style led David into the world of professional musicianship where early in his career he became a full-time member of Niamh Parsons’ band and others, including The Chieftains and De Danann, to name but a few.

Shane McGowan, a gifted guitar player of multiple genres, comes from south Sligo - Lavagh, from a musical family, and started at an early age, giving his first public performance at the age of five. His father Harry is a well-known flute player from the area and was a big influence on him, teaching him whistle and flute.

Shane started playing guitar in his teens and was very interested in playing Irish music as well as rock, swing and jazz.

Some bands he has guested with are Slide, Geraldine McGowan and the John Carty Festival band, to name a few, and he has played with the mighty Seán Keane on the stage here in Westport.

There's limited availability on tickets at https://www.westporttheatre.com/.