Month: January 2019

Following the release of her EP ‘Trapped Within’ in 2017, actress and singer/songwriter Klara McDonnell is set to release her new single ‘Sinking Unknowing’ on the 1st February 2019.

Written by Klara and recorded, mixed and mastered at Beardfire Studio, Dublin.

Produced by David Virgin, Rohan Healy, Al Quiff & Klara McDonnell.

The track she says “has a retro vibe to it and deals with the awkwardness of some modern relationships in the digital age we live in.”

Her next live appearance will be playing a featured slot at The Sunday Songbrunch in Darkey Kelly’s on Fishamble Street in Dublin on the 17th February.

‘Sinking Unknowing’ will be available to stream and download on Amazon, Deezer, GooglePlay, iTunes and Spotify. 

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Following the release of their well received ‘Late Night Calls’ EP in 2018, alongside a string of gigs and festival appearances across Ireland, Dublin act Motions kick off 2019 with ‘Play The Hits’. A synth infused dance track drawing on the bands more electronic influences, ‘Play The Hits’ is a cultural talking point on how music has become disposable in the Spotify age. The track was written by Dave Nulty & Tom Daly and produced by Alessio Buso.

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/5R9IO8nJdSxn4MRvK2CMrq
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/motionsmusicofficial/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MotionsMusicOfficial
Twitter – https://twitter.com/MotionsMusic 

Picture This have today announced details of their exclusive performance for their new album ‘MDRN LV’. As revealed on The Eoghan McDermott Show on RTÉ 2fm, the acoustic performance from the band will take place at the iconic Empire State Building in New York City on February 13^th, 2019. The entire live show and interviews will air on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019, ahead of their sophomore album release on the 15^th.

2fm will send the lucky winners on the trip of a lifetime to join Picture This at the Empire State Building for this exclusive live event, including travel and hotel in New York City. Listen in all next week for a Picture This Double Play and when you hear it text New York to 51552 for your chance to be one of the lucky listeners heading to the Big Apple and the Empire State Building with Picture This.

‘MDRN LV’, the new album, is set to be released on February 15^th, 2019. Produced by Jayson Dezuzio [Imagine Dragons, X Ambassadors], the record represents a creative high watermark for the quartet as they expand their signature style and venture into uncharted sonic territory. The new album includes the current single ‘One Drink’ plus two previously released instant-grat tracks ‘Everything Or Nothing’ and ‘If You Wanna Be Loved’. It’s available now to pre-order on iTunes.

The biggest act in Ireland and the nation’s hottest musical export in decades, Picture This arrived as a phenomenon with their self-titled 2017 full-length debut, ‘Picture This’. Certified triple-platinum in Ireland, it held the #1 spot in the Irish Album Chart for four weeks, while topping the Streaming Chart for seven weeks. Moreover, it has been the most streamed album by an Irish act for two years in a row. 

Nearly three years since their formation, they’ve impressively sold over 300K tickets, concluding 2018 with the announcement of a five-night residency in Dublin’s 3Arena for this March. All five nights have subsequently sold out.  

Picture This are Ryan Hennessey, Jimmy Rainsford, Owen Cardiff and Cliff Deane.

Using a water-well as an analogy for our mental health,  in his latest release, Maur Byrne tries to encourage everyone to keep their mental health at the forefront of their minds.  To keep some water in reserve.

There is no doubt we all deal with stress but knowing when to look after ourselves and not allow stress to get on top of us. We need to recognise our limits. We need to learn where our breaking points are. We all need to keep some water in our wells.

Maur Byrne is a County Louth based Songwriter and is a member of West Coast Song writers, a songwriter collective based in San Francisco, California for the past 8 years. He is the author of over 700 songs and lyrics and has worked on co-writes in Switzerland, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the USA.

‘Never Let Your Well Run Dry’ was released to all streaming and download platforms on the 10th of January 2019. It also received its World Premier on Radio Na Gaeltacht’s flagship programme ‘An Ghealaach Gorm’ on Saturday 19th January.

MINDRIOTmt, the 3 piece from Mitchelstown in Cork have been blazing a trail since the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Brothers’ in 2016 and have now announced a 5 date Irish spring tour which will take in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny and Dublin.

Tickets for select dates available at  https://mindriotmt.eventbrite.ie

The bands first single ‘Low’ debuted on national Irish radio on Today FM and quickly gained airplay across Irish stations and across the world and was quickly followed by the single ‘Billy Ray’. The single ‘Speak’ reaching No.1 in the Google Play and iTunes rock charts.

The most recent single ‘We Owe You Nothing’, featuring Today FM’s own Dave Moore gained the honor of being long listed for a Grammy nomination.

The band has gigged relentlessly through 2016 to 2018 with live shows that are a mix of raw emotion, hard rock power and fun have won them tours with UK Legends The Darkness and Canadian Prog rock master Devin Townsend and a host of festival slots sharing the stage some of the biggest names in music.

The band are also currently recording their 2nd Album with a 2019 release date.

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‘She Darks Me’ is the lost album by Joe Chester, one of our finest songwriters, virtually unheard since it’s original recording. Written during stolen moments in between collaborations in L.A with Gemma Hayes and touring with The Waterboys, the ten track collection is perhaps the most melodic and liberating of Joe’s releases. Fewer overdubs and making courageous use of first takes where possible informed Joe’s renowned signature production style from that point on. A stellar range of musicians participated where opportunities to record could be grabbed, whether on the road with Steve Wickham and Trevor Hutchinson or on Willie Nelson’s tour bus with Mickey Raphael (Harmonica – Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris). The recordings have been recovered from the archives and given a masterful updated sheen by Joe from his self-built studio near his home in the south of France.

Joe will launch the album with an intimate gig in Bewley’s Café in Dublin on the day of release, Friday 25th January.

Saarloos released their debut single ‘Changes’ in 2018 and the result was a top 40 single on Irish radio and the most streamed new Irish act of 2018 on Spotify!

They end the year with two sold out Dublin shows, sold out shows in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and they performed at the New Years Eve Festival to 10 Thousand people.

Saarloos consisting of Craig Gallagher, Brian McGovern (former Fallen Drakes) and Andy Kavanagh, they kick off 2019 with what is sounding like a radio smash single called ‘Fire Is Love’ which is released on Friday 25th Jan, they also will be supporting Gavin James on his Sold Out European tour starting in Madrid next month and ending in Amsterdam!

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Now in its fifth year, the Banjo & Bovril Festival at The Harbour Bar in Bray returns this coming Wednesday January 23rd to Sunday January 27th.

This year’s festival has one of the biggest line-ups to date with Cathy Davey, Seamus Fogarty, I Have A Tribe, Yankari afrobeat collective, Mutefish, Niwel Tsumbu, alongside hotly tipped Irish artists for 2019, Junior Brother, Lemoncello, Leila Jane And The Healers and more.

Acclaimed Irish poets Stephen James Smith and Erin Fornoff headline the new Poetry, Spoken Word, and Storytelling room in The Loft.

In addition, there are family friendly shows on Saturday and Sunday afternoon from Candlelit Tales with faeries, folk tales, and at least one banjo for the weekend that’s in it.

All festival events are free and there will be mugs of Bovril on the house for all during the 5 days.

The Harbour Bar was established in 1872 and was voted “The Best Bar in the World” by Lonely Planet in 2010.

The Origins of Banjo & Bovril 

The Banjo & Bovril origins are a worthy hat-tip to days long gone, when fishermen would come ashore in Bray from time spent on the Irish Sea. First stop, The Harbour Bar.

Here they’d have a cup of Bovril to warm themselves up – before settling into a night drinking porter, singing and playing banjos, guitars, bodhráns, and mandolins.

Paul O’Toole Snr. continued the tradition in later years when short winter days were ended in the bar with a bit of banjo playing, some steaming cups of hot Bovril and a plateful of cheese and crackers.

And so the tradition continues with music, a bit of craic and a mug of the black stuff at the Banjo & Bovril Festival.

This year the festival has a music line-up that’s as anticipated as the first mouthful savoured by the fishermen themselves…

Full line-up and stage times follow below.

BANJO & BOVRIL FESTIVAL 2019

This Wednesday January 23rd to Sunday January 27th 

The Harbour Bar, Bray, Co. Wicklow.

5 days of music.

All shows are FREE.

Trad sessions daily in the bar.

The Harbour Bar is also home to the annual Toastie Festival and there will be toasties on the go all day and evening.

And of course, mugs of Bovril for all!

– FULL STAGE-TIMES:

Wednesday January 23rd
Seamus Fogarty – 9.00pm – 10.30pm

Thursday January 24th
I Have A Tribe – 10.30pm – 11.30pm

Friday, January 25th
Alfi – 9.00pm – 10.30pm
Yankari afrobeat collective – 11.30pm – 12.30am

Saturday January 26th
The Loft
Candlelit Tales – 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Erin Fornoff – 4.00pm – 5.00pm

The Live Lounge
Brand New Switcharoo – 5.30pm – 7.00pm
Junior Brother – 7.30pm – 8.30pm
Markus Carcus & The Trail Gang – 9.00 – 10.30pm
Mutefish – 11.00pm – 12.30am

Sunday January 27th
The Loft
Candlelit Tales – 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Stephen James Smith – 2.30pm – 3.30pm

The Live Lounge
Lemoncello – 3.30pm – 5.00pm
Niwel Tsumbu – 5.30pm – 7.00pm
Cathy Davey – 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Leila Jane & The Healers – 9.30 – 11.00pm

#BanjoandBovril

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