Saturday, April 20th
Mick Hanly and Dónal Lunny
The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim; Also Fri, INEC Acoustic Club, Killarney; Sat, Inkwell Theatre, Minane Bridge, Cork
The paths of this pair of musicians have been intersecting ever since the 1970s, when Dónal Lunny produced the first two albums by Monroe, a duo formed by Hanly and the late Micheál Ó Domhnaill. Later they were bandmates with Moving Hearts, and Dónal produced Mick's album All I Remember, which spawned the mega-hit Past the Point of Rescue for Hal Ketchum. These days, they choose to play together largely for the love of it, wending their way to intimate venues where Hanly's warm vocals can bask in the complex arrangements of Lunny's bouzouki and guitar. This is their fourth tour as a duo, so it's likely that the rough edges will have been sanded down by now.
Sunday, April 21st
Stockton's Wing
Treacy's West County Hotel, Ennis, Co Clare
Clare's ultimate success story Stockton's Wing reunite for this A Retrospective tour some 40 years after they originally got together, with an accompanying single, We Had It All, released to coincide with their odyssey across the country. Proceeds of the single go to Multiple Sclerosis Ireland. Mike Hanrahan will doubtless reprise the band's runaway success singles Beautiful Affair and Walk Away. This was a band who melded solid traditional influences with a strong folk sensibility, to dramatic effect, and in the process played a key role in the lives of almost anyone who grew up in rural Ireland in the 1980s.
Thursday, April 25th
Consairtín 2019
Old Ground Hotel, Ennis; Continues until Sunday 28th
This is the sixth annual concertina convention, and who would have thought that this most diminutive of instruments would be enjoying such a revival? Classes, workshops, lectures, recitals and concerts will all vie for the attention of the faithful throughout the weekend, with performers including Aogán Lynch, Michelle O'Brien and Gavin Ralston; Florence Fahy and Gary Ó Briain; The Dublin Lasses; Francis Cunningham, Eimear Coughlan and Carl Hession, and many others. A must for anyone with an ear cocked to the depth and breadth of the myriad sounds this modest instrument is capable of making.
Saturday, April 27th
#Seamus100 The Rolling Wave
Seamus Ennis Arts Centre, The Naul, Co Dublin
A live recording of RTÉ Radio 1's The Rolling Wave, with presenter Aoife Nic Cormaic. A celebration of the life and legacy of Seamus Ennis on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. With tunes and songs from piper Robbie Hannan, Paddy Glackin, Sorcha Ní Scolaí, Louise Malachy, Ronan Browne, Jimmy O'Brien Moran, Pádraig Mac Mathúna and others. And a timely opportunity to hear Easter Snow, a tune long associated with this master piper, collector and broadcaster.
