• Festival Preview: Faoin Tuath

    July 24, 2024 - By 

    Faoin Tuath makes its debut on the last weekend of July as a festival paving the way for the queer community in the west of Ireland. The three-day celebration of nature and the arts is set to take place from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th of July on the grounds of Common Knowledge in Kilfenora, County Clare. Common Knowledge was cultivated as a collective founded on the belief that connection through the artistry of practical skill has the power to encourage sustainable and revolutionary change. The organisation aims to connect its people through land-based skill sharing. From house building to…

  • Quare as Folk: An Interview with Sam Amidon

    May 9, 2024 - By 

    Ahead of his highly-anticipated return to DeBarra’s in Clonakilty on 19th May, Vermont folk master Sam Amidon discusses the ways in which lineage and collaboration interact with constantly pushing forward. Go here to buy tickets to Sam Amdson at DeBarra’s Hi Sam.
It has been a typically busy period for you. One happening I would’ve loved to have experienced was the 10th-anniversary show for your LP Lily-O, Was it, as I assume, really fulfilling evening, revisiting the record in that way? It was a beautiful night! It was actually the first time the four of us who made the album (Bill Frisell,…

  • Authentic and In Control: An Interview with Shiv

    April 16, 2024 - By 

    From on a blue velvet couch in a bustling hotel lobby in Dublin City Centre, Zimbabwean-Irish sensation Shiv chats to Ciara Byrne, reflecting on her unconventional journey to becoming a musician and the contributions and pitfalls of social media as a platform for self-promotion. Diving into her new single ‘Limerence,’ collaboration, working with Bricknasty and finding her own authentic voice, Shiv lays herself bare in the wake of her musical re-emergence Photos by Seán McMahon Shiv’s new album ‘the defiance of a sad girl’ is out on 4th July. Your music career started with a recording of you being uploaded to…

  • Thranifesto: An Interview with Leeann Toland

    March 27, 2024 - By 

    Ahead of live outings in Belfast, Derry & Dundalk for her first special, Thranifesto, Derry-based comedian Leeann Toland chats to us about the local scene, the etymology of thranness, bridging comedy and music, loving problematic men, and Madonna as a psychohistorical tool. Photo by Billy Woods How is the comedy scene in Derry, and how did you get started within it? The scene is quite small in Derry but strong, The Cosh – run by Fintan Harvey and Ro Boyle – has a monthly night on in The Brickwork – run by Peter E Davidson – too, where I’ll be…

  • Tight Unit, Closer Friends: An Interview With Search Results

    March 18, 2024 - By 

    Since featuring them as an Inbound artist late last year, Search Results have smitten many more listeners with their masterfully mercurial indie-rock craft Ahead of what’s set to be a packed few months, Danny Kilmartin chats to Dublin trio – guitarist Fionn Brennan, drummer Jack Condon and bassist Adam Hoban – about the road less travelled they have taken to their upcoming second LP Photos by Monika Ruman What’s in a name – why Search Results? Jack: We lost a bet with Shane Clifford. You started writing together very quickly after first meeting. What was it that brought you together…

  • Chatting To The Cheesemonger: An Interview with Danny Carroll

    February 28, 2024 - By 

    A quintessential indie rock showman-turned-millennial songsmith in the classical mode, we have a chat with Danny Carroll ahead of the release of his solo debut LP I Am The Cheese, out this Friday. Your debut LP I Am The Cheese shares its title with a 1977 young adult fiction novel, written by Robert Cormier. Could you tell us about the poignancy of that title to yourself and this body of work? It’s a book I read when I was 12 and was pretty haunted by. The final lines of the novel refer back to the folk song ‘The Farmer In…

  • Digging Deep: Introducing DUG

    February 21, 2024 - By 

    Off the back of their first-ever show and debut single ‘Jubilee,’ Dublin-based folk duo DUG, aka Lorkin O’Reilly and California native Jonny Pickett, speak to Ciara Byrne about new beginnings and what looks set to be a very bright future. In the aftermath of their debut single, ‘Jubilee,’ and two sold-out shows at Whelan’s in Dublin, DUG injects fresh energy and a comedic twist into the age-old fusion of Irish folk and American old-time music. October 2023 marked the inception of the project, a collaboration between songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly and California native Jonny Pickett. Their musical journey began amidst the…

  • Still Open Wide: Catching Up With The Altered Hours

    February 7, 2024 - By 

    Ahead of playing The Spirit Store in Dundalk tomorrow night – and Dublin & Limerick next month – we chat with Cathal MacGabhann of Cork psych-rock heroes The Altered Hours about their luminous journey & highly-anticipated next phase Go here to buy tickets to the Altered Hours and Alice Robinson at The Spirit Store as part of Collide Hi Cathal. When I interviewed you guys back in 2013, you had a very level-headed – and honestly very refreshing – conception of “success”. You said “Money, popularity and recognition I have no problem with. I really feel that if just one…

  • The Low-End Theory: An Interview John ‘Spud’ Murphy

    January 4, 2024 - By 

    Stevie Lennox chats with Spud Murphy about his crucial role in sculpting the soundworlds of Lankum, Black MIDI, ØXN and more Photos by Loreana Rushe In an inauspicious arch underneath the Dart line in North Dublin you’ll find John ‘Spud’ Murphy, working away in his longtime hub of Guerrilla Studios. “So it still is like a cave, which has pros and cons,” he says. “You’re in a cave. And there’s no external light, but you don’t know what time of the day it is. So you just keep working and you’re not looking outside going, oh, it’s beautiful outside. You…

  • In A Different Space: An Interview With Alicia Raye

    December 6, 2023 - By 

    Ahead of the release of Love Letters, her collaborative EP with Becky McNeice, Belfast-via-Drogheda powerhouse Alicia Raye chats to Andrew Moore about representation and spearheading change for female empowerment through her own artistry and management Photos by Kate Lawlor The rise of the female powerhouse has been a breath of fresh air within what is, typically, a male-dominated music industry. Artists like Doja Cat, Cardi B, Tinashe and Summer Walker are picking up where the pre-gen started; reshaping the hip-hop, R&B and Afro landscape through a strong, independent female and gender minority gaze. While this is great news for those…