• Roving Eye: Ham Sandwich in London

    November 18, 2015 - By 

    Tara Thomas captures night two of Ham Sandwich’s recent sold out stint at The Islington, London. It’s unlikely I can impart anything new to you about the London music scene such is our affinity with this city. A magnet for musicians worldwide we are fortunate to have this cultural hotspot on our doorstep. London town, with its myriad of venues, grandiose or intimate, is for many Irish artists their first taste of international exposure. It was only a matter of time before Roving Eye was cast in the direction of Islington, North Greater London. A short walk from Angel tube…

  • Roving Eye: The Strypes in Hamburg

    November 8, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of her regular feature Roving Eye – in which she travels across far and wide shooting some of the best Irish acts on tour – Tara Thomas captures a heady Hamburg date on The Strypes’ latest European tour. Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany is steeped in music legend from Brahms to the Beatles. It’s maritime history has resulted in vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods and palpable social tolerance. Making my way from the airport to a hotel in the infamous St Pauli quarter it’s easy to understand how this northern German metropolis is also gaining a reputation as an entertainment…

  • Roving Eye: Le Galaxie in Brighton

    July 16, 2015 - By 

    The latest Roving Eye trip took me to Brighton to get a little taste of The Great Escape with party time favourites Le Galaxie. Brighton – nicknamed “London by the Sea” – has witnessed huge gentrification over the last decade, albeit without losing its notorious licentiousness. It has a charming seaside resort exterior, with beautiful Regency architecture converted into guest houses or pied-à-terre for London bourgeois weekenders. However, a gentle scratch of the surface reveals an undercurrent of bohemian non-conformist attitudes and the UK’s largest recreational drug market. Seemed like the perfect location for the UKs leading music industry festival,…

  • Roving Eye: The Young Folk in Birmingham

    March 24, 2015 - By 

    In second installment of Roving Eye, Tara Thomas sets out for Birmingham with Dublin alt-folk quartet The Young Folk as they do a tour of coffee shops. Last Monday morning found me catching the red eye to Birmingham to meet with The Young Folk. I had the pleasure of sharing the flight with a still merry stag party who used the forty airborne minutes to relive every moment of their weekend, much to the bemusement of the other passengers. Birmingham is the most densely inhabited city in the UK outside London. A city steeped in innovation and revolution has produced a…

  • The Record: RuggedWood

    November 6, 2014 - By 

    In the latest installment of The Record, our photographer Tara Thomas both shoots and reports back from from folk-pop five-piece Ruggedwood recording in the studio. “Trying to capture the atmosphere of a band laying down tracks is a tough task but one I relished when spending time with RuggedWood in Nutshed Studios Clara Co. Offaly. I arrived to the rhythm of beating drums and made my way into the Control Room, which was pretty impressive. Here I found the members of RuggedWood – Johnny, Ronan, Jerome, Ted & Geoff – passing the time, strumming guitars, having banter and munching crisps, awaiting their turn in the isolation booth. The…