The Tradition Now concert series will take place online for the second year, on 19 and 20 June. The event, a partnership between the NCH and the Arts Council, was established in 2014 and is now a regular feature in the NCH’s programming, focusing on traditional and folk musicians. This year will include ten concerts live-streamed from the Dublin venue. 

On Saturday 19 June, John Spillane will perform the headline slot at 8pm, playing music from his new album 100 Snow White Horses, released last month. The pipes, flute and fiddle trio of Mick O’Brien, Emer Mayock and Aoife Ní Bhriain will also perform on Saturday (5pm) playing music from their latest record More Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts, which was recently reviewed in the Journal of Music. Also in the line-up are sean-nós singer Nell Ní Chróinín in a new ensemble with jazz pianist Cormac McCarthy, Kate Ellis on cello, and Maria Ryan on violin (3.30pm); and sisters Michelle Mulcahy (concertina, fiddle, harp) and Louise Mulcahy (uilleann pipes, flute) (2pm).

Vocal and fiddle duo Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien, who released Solas an Lae last year, will play on Sunday 20 June at 2pm, as well as guitarist Steve Cooney (3.30pm) and folk-singer Daoirí Farrell (5pm). The headline concert on Sunday will feature a number of musicians gathered by indie-folk duo Varo, including singer-songwriter John Francis Flynn, harper Alannah Thornburgh, singer Niamh Bury, singer Anna Mieke, and Dublin alt-folk group Slow Moving Clouds performing with singer Branwen. 

Each day at 11am and 1pm there will also be participatory live-streamed performances for children and families, titled Wunderground. 

Commenting on the event, Robert Read, CEO of the National Concert Hall, said:

Irish musicians continue to build on Ireland’s rich cultural heritage by fostering a deep appreciation for tradition while adopting contemporary themes and sounds to chart a new course… Now more than ever we are assured of the transformative power of music and the arts to speak to the times we live in, to offer solace and inspiration for today and the future.    

For further information and ticketing, visit: https://bit.ly/2TlOkNu