One-day music festival for Tullamore

A one-day mini-festival to kick start festival season will take place in John Lee’s Bar & Venue, Church Street, Tullamore on March 26 next. This event is a rescheduled event part-funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Headlining 'The Music Market' will be Power of Dreams from Walkinstown who are currently on a mini Irish tour promoting their current album Auslander. Always a favourite when they played the Harriers in Tullamore back in its heyday, it is great to have them return to play Tullamore after more than 15 years. Their first album, 'Immigrants, Emigrants and Me', was released in 1990, receiving glowing reviews worldwide.

The band then embarked on a world tour as a supporting act for the Mission. The follow-up album, 2 Hell With Common Sense, was released two years later with a more powerful sound.

In 2020, Power of Dreams released two new singles, 'America'/'Across the Shannon', and 'Hurricane', to promote the forthcoming album Aüslander. In July 2021, Aüslander, their first album in 27 years was released. The gig in Tullamore is the final Irish appearance on this tour for the band.

Junior Brother from outside Killarney but has connections in Offaly is returning with his full band to play in Lee’s after previously performing here at Aprespalooza. He was named as one of RTÉ's Rising Irish Stars of 2018, and as one of The Irish Times' "Irish music contenders ready to breakthrough in 2019". His first album, Pull The Right Rope, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize, and in April 2020 he appeared on Other Voices.

Dubh Lee, aka Niamh Dooley hails from Killeigh and the world was really starting to open up for her when Covid hit and live music stopped. During lockdown, she was busy recording and writing songs so this summer should see Niamh’s career resume and her entertaining live performances endear her to many.

Raconteur Hubert Murray lives in Tullamore and has a "voice bursting from the soul. His songs feature lost loves, inner demons, compulsive liars and day dreamers. His sound bows a head to the masters of melody and word such as; Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley and Bukowski," one review said.

Eoin Martin, who has organised 'The Music Market' as an occasional night in Lee’s for years, is well connected on the Dublin music scene where he moved to live a few years back but always enjoyed returning home and bringing down musicians to play. He'll act as MC for proceedings

Also performing on the day on three stages will be Darren Brown, Griff Delaney, Adrian Fox, DJ Silentface, Tina Kennedy, Craig Walker and in the lounge on Saturday The Finn Brothers from Laois, who will bring their lively set of banjo and guitar-led ballads to life.