Music Network's 40th anniversary tour coming to Birr next month
Music Network has announced a nationwide tour in February, featuring acclaimed performers Kevin Burke, Dermot Byrne, Noriana Kennedy and Jim Murray.
Described as an "unmissable" show, it will be coming to Offaly on Sunday, February 22, with a performance in Birr Theatre and Arts Centre at 8pm.
Music Network said the tour was "a collaboration featuring four extraordinary artists who have shared their music with audiences over four decades of Music Network's National Touring Programme".
Kevin Burke’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music since the 1970s. His far-reaching solo album 'If the Cap Fits', and his work with such distinguished performers as Arlo Guthrie, Kate Bush, Christy Moore and the Bothy Band, established him as a ground-breaking artist.
Kevin has earned international acclaim in both Europe and America as a solo performer, a teacher and as a member of some of folk music’s foremost groups including the exciting Celtic Fiddle Festival and Ireland’s long admired and respected Patrick Street.
Dermot Byrne’s seemingly effortless playing, combined with great subtlety and a faultless ear, makes him one of the finest accordion players of his generation. Hailing from the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal, Dermot was a member of the renowned Irish traditional music band Altan from 1994 to 2013.
He has also collaborated with Séamus and Manus McGuire, Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin and Bríd Harper. Outside of traditional music, he has recorded and performed with household names including Dolly Parton, John Prine, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Paul Brady and the late jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli.
Half Irish and half Filipino, Noriana Kennedy possesses a captivating voice lauded by the Irish Times as "a knockout: translucent and tenacious in equal measure". Since her debut album 'Ebb n Flow' was released in 2011, her career has soared, touring extensively in the USA with renowned traditional group Solas and sharing the stage with artists like Pauline Scanlon, Eilís Kennedy, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and John Spillane.
In 2013, Noriana joined Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell to form the stunning songwriting trio The Whileaways. Together with her bandmates, Noriana has contributed to four albums, earning several RTÉ Folk Award nominations along the way.
Completing the quartet is Jim Murray, one of the world’s leading acoustic guitar players. For over twenty years he has toured, performed and recorded with artists such as Sharon Shannon, Sinéad O’Connor, Steve Earle, Shane MacGowan, Séamus Begley, Mike McGoldrick, Altan and Mary Black.
The programme will feature inspired performances of traditional and contemporary material from four artists whose collective experience and creativity have carved a deep impression on the landscape of traditional Irish music.
This tour begins on February 10 and continues until March 1. Tickets for the Birr performance, priced €20/€18 are on sale now on the Birr Theatre & Arts Centre's website.