Peggy Seeger – First Farewell
The extraordinary folk singer Peggy Seeger releases her 24th solo album today, at the age of 85. First Farewell is a collection of new songs covering themes from the marginalisation of older people and social media addiction to life-long love. Seeger’s concert at the Galway International Arts Festival in 2019 with her son Calum showed just how powerful and passionate she is as a performer, and if you are not aware of her life’s work, then her 2017 memoir First Time Ever is a work of art and a compelling read. First Farewell is her first album to be written and recorded entirely with her immediate family members – sons Calum and Neill MacColl and daughter-in-law Kate St John. Highlights include ‘Lullabies for Strangers’ and ‘Gotta Get Home By Midnight’, which comes with a new video. Seeger’s ‘final’ UK tour has been rescheduled for March 2022. Purchase the album on CD here: https://peggyseeger.bandcamp.com/album/first-farewell-2

Beoga – Breathe
The traditional music group Beoga have released a new EP, Breathe. The five-track, instrumental record reflects on the global changes that have occurred due to the pandemic, as well as the personal experiences of the band. The group have also released a video to accompany the EP’s self-titled track. Commenting on the new record, fiddle-player Niamh Dunne said, ‘The record started out with fragments of ideas. In the last few years as a band musically we’ve taken a lot of twists and turns; we figured an instrumental EP would give us the opportunity to bring everything together in terms of a sound that captures where we’ve come from, as well as where we are now.’ Visit: www.beogamusic.com/

Katie Kim and Seán Mac Erlaine – Empire One
‘Empire One’ is the new track from singer-songwriter Katie Kim and improvising multi-instrumentalist and composer Seán Mac Erlaine. The song is the first single from upcoming album In The Echo: Field Recordings from Earlsfort Terrace, due for release on the Ergodos label later this year. The eight-track compilation album was recorded in various locations in the National Concert Hall in Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, and included collaborations featuring several other Irish musicians and composers including Lisa O’Neill, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Eileen Carpio, Sean Carpio, Conor O’Brien, Cian Nugent, Brigid Mae Power, Saileóg Ní Cheannabháin, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Lisa Hannigan, Crash Ensemble and more. Purchase ‘Empire One’ on Bandcamp: https://ergodos.bandcamp.com/album/empire-one

Click on the image below to listen.

Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill – Live From the Crawford Gallery 
Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill have released a new EP of music recorded as part of their performance in Other Voices’ Courage series in July 2020. The three-track record was recorded at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork and features two of Flannery’s songs – ‘I’ll Be Out Here’ and ‘Must Be More’, as well as a cover of the late John Prine’s ‘Angel From Montgomery’. Visit: https://smarturl.it/ovcourage-mick-susan

Northern Ireland Opera and Ulster Orchestra – White Ribbon
In aid of Women’s Aid ABCLN, Northern Ireland Opera and Ulster Orchestra have released ‘White Ribbon’. The new song was co-written by pianist Ruth McGinley and songwriter Duke Special, and reflects the stories and voices of women who have experienced domestic abuse. An accompanying video of a live performance of the song in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, featuring vocalist Jolene O’Hara, will premiere at 8pm this evening (9 April). Purchase the song here: https://ffm.to/whiteribbon

Gráinne Brady – Newcomer
Based in Glasgow since 2011, Gráinne Brady is an Irish fiddle-player and composer from Loughduff, Co. Cavan. ​Newcomer is her second album and follows her 2019 debut The Road Across the Hills. The former album was inspired by Donegal writer Patrick MacGill’s novel Children of the Dead End and combined a mixture of new tunes and spoken word. Newcomer takes a similar approach, but this time inspired by McGill’s The Rat-Pit​, and in particular the story of Norah Ryan, the literary heroine explored in the novel. The ten-track album features seven instrumental sets and three songs and features a number of musicians from Scotland’s traditional and classical music scene: Seonaid Aitken, Sarah Leonard and Su-a Lee on strings, Christine McGinley on French horn, Innes White on guitar, Steve Forman on percussion/sound effects, Michael Biggins on piano, Tina Jordan Rees on flute, Claire Hastings on vocals, Andrew Waite on accordion and Jack Houston on fiddle and spoken word.

Purchase Newcomer on Bandcamp: https://grainnebrady.bandcamp.com/album/newcomer

Click on the image below to listen

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