Mayo date for unmissable collaboration between four extraordinary artists
Music Network has announced a nationwide tour featuring four extraordinary artists who have shared their music with audiences over four decades of Music Network's national touring programme, and it's coming to Mayo next month.
The four artists are Kevin Burke, Dermot Byrne, Noriana Kennedy and Jim Murray, whose collective experience and creativity have carved a deep impression on the landscape of traditional Irish music.
Kevin Burke’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music since the 1970s. His far-reaching solo album, If the Cap Fits, and his work with such distinguished performers as Arlo Guthrie, Kate Bush, Christy Moore and The Bothy Band established him as a ground-breaking artist. He has been the recipient of prestigious awards such as Gradam Ceoil TG4 Musician of the Year 2016 and a National Heritage Fellowship, the USA's highest honour for excellence in the folk and traditional arts.
Another Gradam Ceoil TG4 Musician of the Year, Dermot Byrne’s seemingly effortless playing, combined with great subtlety and a faultless ear, makes him one of the finest accordion players of his generation. Hailing from the Inishowen peninsula of Co. Donegal, Dermot was a member of the renowned Irish traditional music band Altan from 1994 to 2013. He has also collaborated with Séamus and Manus McGuire, Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin and Bríd Harper. Outside of traditional music, he has recorded and performed with household names including Dolly Parton, John Prine, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Paul Brady and the late jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli.
Half-Irish and half-Filipino, Noriana Kennedy possesses a captivating voice lauded by the Irish Times as 'a knockout: translucent and tenacious in equal measure'. Since her debut album Ebb n Flow was released in 2011, her career has soared, touring extensively in the USA with renowned traditional group Solas and sharing the stage with highly respected artists like Pauline Scanlon, Eilís Kennedy, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and John Spillane. In 2013, Noriana joined Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell to form the stunning songwriting trio The Whileaways. Together with her bandmates, Noriana has contributed to four albums, earning several RTÉ Folk Award nominations along the way.
Joining them is Jim Murray, one of the world’s leading acoustic guitar players. For over 20 years he has toured, performed and recorded with artists such as Sharon Shannon, Sinéad O’Connor, Steve Earle, Shane MacGowan, Séamus Begley, Mike McGoldrick, Altan and Mary Black. In 1998, he began his professional career, having been invited to tour Japan and Australia with accordion legend Séamus Begley, whilst also in the same year touring America with piano accordion ace Alan Kelly. In 1999, Jim was invited to become guitarist with world renowned Irish musician Sharon Shannon and has recorded and toured with her across five continents. Jim had an extraordinary musical partnership with accordionist and singer Séamus Begley and their debut album Ragairne, released in 2001, received both The Irish Times and Hot Press Traditional Irish Music Album of the Year.
The programme will feature inspired performances of traditional and contemporary material from the four incredible artists. The tour runs from February 10 to March 1, with their Mayo show taking place in the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, on Friday, February 27 (8 p.m.). Tickets cost from €10 to €26 (booking fees may apply) and are on sale now from www.musicnetwork.ie.