At the forefront of the current Irish music scene – armed with a strong belief and passion for authenticity, The Wedding Above In Glencree, is the much anticipated fourth solo album from Dublin’s own Daoiri Farrell – recorded & engineered by Trevor Hutchinson (Lunasa / Waterboys) – with guest appearance from Nashville’s Jerry Douglas on dobro.
‘Sonny’s Dream’ is the first single to emerge from the album, The Wedding Above In Glencree, due for release on 24th February. The track is a perfect example of the focus on the song – voice, words and the art of storytelling – which is at the core of the album.
Written in 1976 by Ron Hynes from St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, the song tells of the hopes and dreams of a young boy whose lot in life is to work the family farm and support a lonely and ailing mother while an absent father remains at sea. Perhaps a parallel to be drawn with the familial and enforced ties that bind many of us in contemporary society.
“I first heard Ron’s version of the song five or six years ago from Dublin guitarist Tony Byrne,” says Daoirí of a song which sees him on his signature bouzouki and vocals, accompanied by Manus Lunny (guitar), Pat Daly (fiddle and harmonium), Trevor Hutchinson (upright bass) with a tastefully warm cameo from one of the world’s greatest bluegrass dobro players, Jerry Douglas.
Not tempted to latch onto musical trends, Daoirí has instead trodden his own path, founded on a deep respect for folk music’s oral tradition with a number of the songs on The Wedding Above In Glencree collected from long-time members of Dublin’s An Góilin Traditional Singers club.
The album’s traditional songs are complemented by original works from Pecker Dunne, Ron Hynes, Paddy Ban O’Brien as well as Canon Charles O’Neill’s ‘The Foggy Dew’, the latter initially appearing as his contribution to the RTE One TV production, ‘Ireland’s Favourite Folk Song’. Also featured is the first self-penned tune by Daoirí, a track called ‘Damien Walsh’s’
The album is drenched with a powerful and evocative sense of place, set squarely in the country of Daoirí’s birth. ‘Young Emmet’ tells of Irish Republican Robert Emmet, while the 1798 rebellion is at the heart of ‘Father Murphy’, while the nine-verse extravaganza title track is described by Daoirí as, “recounting the tale of a chaotic wedding, celebrated to excess, that may well have been held in the Glencree valley…”
Daoirí is joined on the album by a stellar cast of musicians that includes Manus Lunny (guitar, bouzouki and bass bouzouki), Paddy Kiernan (5-string banjo), Mark Redmond (uilleann pipes and whistles), Pat Daly (fiddle and harmonium), Trevor Hutchinson (upright bass), Robbie Walsh (hand pan and bodhran), Alan Doherty (whistles), Geoff Kinsella (tenor banjo) and a special guest appearance on ‘Sonny’s Dream’ by internationally renowned bluegrass dobro player, Jerry Douglas.
Artist’s website: https://www.daoiri.com/
‘The Creggan White Hare’ – Daoirí Farrell live with Donal Lunny:
UK DATES APRIL / MAY 2023
Wednesday 19 April – Cramlington Folk Club
Thursday 20 April – Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax
Friday 21 April – Folk at the Meadows, Belper
Saturday 22 April – Talbot Theatre, Whitchurch Leisure Centre
Sunday 23 April – Temperance, Leamington Spa
Thursday 27 April – Calstock Arts Centre, Cornwall
Friday 28 April – Pound Arts, Corsham
Saturday 29 April – Devoran Village Hall, Falmouth
Sunday 30 April – Topsham Folk Club, Devon
Tuesday 2 May – Quay Arts, Newport, IOW
Wednesday 3 May – The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford
Thursday 4 May – Rope & Tackle Arts Centre, Shoreham by Sea
Friday 5 May – Kings Place, London (Daoiri Farrell Trio)
Saturday 6 May – Forest Arts, New Milton
Sunday 7 May – Hitchin Folk Club, Hitchin, Cambs.
Tuesday 9 May – Norwich Arts
Wednesday 10 May – Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
Thursday 11 May – Cast, Doncaster
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