A beacon in dark times: 5 gigs to see at Quiet Lights festival in Cork
L-R: Lisa O'Neill and Junior Brother, two of the artists performing at Quiet Lights this weekend
A collaboration with FUAIM Music at UCC sees a joining-up of extraordinary musicians: fiddler Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh, renowned for his prowess with the ten-string hardanger d'amore fiddle joins Crash Ensemble members Kate Ellis & Caimin Gilmore in playing as a string trio, performing in the surrounds of the Tobin Street arts centre.
Originally slated to be the Featured Artist of the cancelled 2020 edition of the festival, Sligo singer-songwriter Lisa O’Neill is among this year's headliners. Her last release on the Rough Trade imprint River Lea, ‘Heard A Long Gone Song’, garnered huge acclaim both at home and abroad - it was nominated for a Choice Prize, got a five-star review from the Guardian on release, and swept nominations at folks awards ceremonies in the UK and Ireland.
Hailing from Co. Wicklow and having spent time on Cork's folk scene, Anna Mieke draws from a rich vein of experience: learning Maori songs at school in New Zealand, cycling through Europe, living in Granada, learning folk songs in Bulgaria, and performing cello in the Cork-based experimental improv group, HEX. Support from Rachel Lavelle.
Maija Sofia is a songwriter and artist from rural Galway. Debut album 'Bath Time', a collection of songs exploring female experiences and shadow histories throughout art, literature and folklore, came in for critical acclaim and a nomination for the RTÉ Choice Prize.
Support from Molly O'Mahony. Maija will also be hosting a creative writing workshop at the new PLUGD Records, on Coal Quay, at 1pm - limited tickets at uticket.ie.
Armed with both an accent and a barely reconstructed holler that immediately gives away his Co. Kerry origins, singer-songwriter Ronan Kealy, better known as Junior Brother, treads the line between Irish and English folk traditions in idiosyncratic, writerly fashion. Debut album 'Pull the Right Rope' has garnered adoring glances, and new single 'Life's New Haircut' is oddly suited to the current lay of the post-Covid land.
Support from folk/prog outfit Trá Phaidín, and tickets are also available in a bundle with the 6pm show at the same venue, featuring Galway's Maija Sofia and Molly O'Mahony.
