SATURDAY 7
Antoni O'Bresky
The Cobblestone. Also Sunday 8, The Cobblestone
O'Breskey is celebrating the launch of his new album, Samara, is joined by an eclectic ensemble featuring his daughter, singer and fiddle player Consuelo Nerea Breschi, Ultan O'Brien of Slow Moving Clouds, guitarist Tony Byrne, banjo and whistle player and singer Paddy Cummins from Skipper's Alley and Tom Mulroney. O'Breskey's album includes a mix of old and new material with Irish, Estonian, Chinese and other nomadic connections.
WEDNESDAY 11
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
An Taibhdhearc, Galway Also Thursday, Dolan's, Limerick
West Kerry singer returns with what she calls her "capsule project", a six-track mini-album featuring songs all associated with the sea. Muireann means "sea maiden" and, having her roots on the wild west Kerry coastline, Nic Amhlaoibh knows a thing or two about the sea. A spellbinding song at the heart of this collection is Port na bPúcaí, an iconic Blasket Island air that has rarely been heard sung, with lyrics. Nic Amhlaoibh is joined by her husband, Billy Mag Fhloinn, who will play the Yaybahar, a haunting instrument of his own making. An Taibhdhearc is an ideal venue to hear this new material for the first time.
FRIDAY 13
St Patrick's Festival
Stpatricksfestival.ie
The build-up to this year's parade will be a long one, with an impressive programme that's anchored in our storytelling and song tradition. It's a welcome opportunity for emerging artists to reach a diverse audience, and the Abair series is key to that. This Friday sees four-part harmony group Landless join poet Anne Marie Ní Chuirreáin in the Axis, Ballymun, where their epic poem set to music, Lúireach Bhríde, on the exploits of St Brigid, will form the centrepiece of their performance. Elsewhere Kíla, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Slow Moving Clouds with Iarla Ó Lionáird, Lisa Hannigan and so many more will jostle for space. This is a festival that's truly found its feet in recent years, appealing as much to its home crowd as to visitors with its wide embrace.
Donal Clancy
DC Music Club, Camden Row
Guitarist and singer Clancy has long been known as the son of Liam, but his own career path with Danú and as a solo artist has flourished on the back of a keen musical imagination and appetite for exploration. Tonight's gig is titled a Folk n Blues revue, where Clancy will tackle some of Dylan's material alongside that of the late, great Elizabeth Cotton. The true centre of his performance, though, is likely to be his fine guitar playing.
