Press release
OPW delighted to announce summer concert series Rathfarnham Rhythms: Reels to Rock
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Published on
Last updated on
The Office of Public Works (OPW) is delighted to announce the launch of Rathfarnham Rhythms: Reels to Rock, a series of seven free online concerts at Rathfarnham Castle from 24 June to 23 September this year. Organised in association with Puregenius Music Promotion, the programme offers the opportunity to savour an eclectic mix of Irish music acts over the summer months – from traditional to jazz, from Indie and singer-songwriters to classical music – which will appeal to a variety of musical tastes. The online events will be accessible to audiences near or far on the day of the event via a link on Rathfarnham Castle’s website, and afterwards via the OPW YouTube channel.
Rathfarnham Castle has a long-established event programme, which every year includes a variety of concerts. This year, rising above current restrictions on live events, the Castle’s team continue this tradition by providing an imaginative musical programme online, hoping in this way to reach audiences in Ireland and abroad. This is a great opportunity to enjoy long summer evenings with exciting music events streamed from Ireland’s oldest fortified house right into your home.
Speaking ahead of the opening, OPW Chairman Maurice Buckley said:
“The team in charge at Rathfarnham Castle have thought of new ways to engage audiences and have produced the wonderful Reels to Rock concert series that will include something for everyone to enjoy. Being able to facilitate these concerts and to work with people involved in the live performance industry has been immensely positive at a time when the live performance sector has suffered badly due to the pandemic.”
Performances were filmed in the elegant Ballroom built to the design of William Chambers and will offer glimpses of the Castle’s atmospheric interiors – those watching from home who find their interest has been piqued may be interested to hear that admission to Rathfarnham Castle is free for the remainder of the year.
The concerts will feature the following performers:
The Whistle Blower Project with Cormac Breatnach (whistles and vocals), Daire Bracken (fiddle and loops) and Martin Tourish (accordion) with graphics by Luis Poveda. This powerful performance explores through music, imagery and words, Cormac Breatnach’s artistic response to a traumatic event in his life which affected him from the age of 13 into adulthood, and how Cormac found solace and healing through music.
Mike Nielsen (jazz guitar)
Director of Jazz Performance at the TU Dublin Conservatoire, and a leading exponent of microtonal music in Ireland, Mike Nielsen is considered, according to the Sunday Tribune, “one of Europe’s most distinctive and iconoclastic guitar voices, equally innovative on electric and acoustic guitars.” Sunday Tribune]. Mike holds a PhD in microtonal performance, MPhil in physics, microtonal music and composition, LTCL in classical guitar performance and received a Jim Hall Incentive Award to attend Berklee College of Music, Boston. Among many other highlights, his work features in The Contemporary Guitar by Grammy Award winning guitarist, John Schneider, he has published a book on rhythm for Schott, Germany, and has taken the stages of jazz festivals including the Wangaratta Jazz Festival Australia, with Dave Liebman. Mike features on 23 CDs including two solo releases for www.modalcitizenrecords.com. His solo performances include original compositions influenced by an eclectic musical taste including jazz, classical and world music.
SACK
A five-piece band from Dublin. In the 1990s, SACK released three albums, You Are What You Eat, Butterfly Effect and Adventura Majestica, picked up single of the week awards from NME and Melody Maker as well as a Hot Press Award for Best Video and a Hot Press Best Album Nomination for Butterfly Effect. SACK toured twice with Morrissey on the first tour, taking in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and Ireland before heading west to the United States, playing stadiums in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego before ending up in the House of Blues in Las Vegas, and on the second tour taking in the famous Olympia in Paris, Denmark, Sweden, The UK and Ireland before ending up with a sell-out show at The Brixton Academy, London. SACK occasionally play live at Electric Picnic, The Olympia, Dublin and other festivals and special events. In December, their live stream show from The Grand Social attracted large audiences.
Leslie Dowdall and Mike Hanrahan
Leslie Dowdall, one of Ireland’s leading vocalists and singer songwriters first came to prominence with In Tua Nua. With Leslie as lead vocalist, In Tua Nua recorded four albums and, over a seven-year period, played and toured with bands including U2, Simple Minds, Bob Dylan, and The Pretenders. They headlined tours in the USA, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, as well as in the UK and Ireland. Since 2009 she has been collaborating with Mike Hanrahan (Stockton’s Wing) in writing and performing, leading to numerous tours over the years, including their most recent “Heart of Gold” tour in 2019. In 2017 Leslie also started working with “Music Generation”, excelling in teaching music to around 600 children per week. Occasionally, Leslie still performs with her former band In Tua Nua. Mike Hanrahan is singer-songwriter and guitarist who played with Stockton’s Wing for 15 years. Amongst his most well-known compositions are ‘Beautiful Affair’ and ‘Walkaway’, both recorded by Stockton’s Wing.
Helen Hancock (soprano) and Anne-Marie O’Farrell (harp) will perform a programme of French songs and lieder as well as two Irish songs. Galway-based Helen is a native of Dublin. Her musical passions centre on Baroque opera, sacred music, art song and Mozart operata. Helen has performed at St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, The Hunt Museum, Limerick, Yeats Tower in Galway, and at Rathfarnham Castle. Anne-Marie O’Farrell has performed and recorded for TV and radio throughout Europe, the USA, Scandinavia and Japan. She has released solo CDs and recorded with Cormac De Barra, The Chieftains and Moya Brennan.
Jem Mitchell Band
Jem Mitchell is a singer/songwriter from Dublin. Having fronted several indie rock outfits in the late 1980s and early '90s, Mitchell took a long hiatus from writing and performing to re-emerge in 2013 on the Irish music scene. Mitchell's music mines a rich seam of Americana and roots music. He is joined by long-time collaborators Ken Browne and John and Mark Colbert.
Shobsy O’Brien accompanied by Joe Regan
Shobsy is a performer/songwriter from Dublin. He is about to embark on a solo career after years as the frontman and lead songwriter of acclaimed Irish band State Lights. Early on, State Lights were chosen to be showcased at MUSEXPO and quickly gained radio support in the UK and US on Radio X and KROQ L.A. The band had a run of sold-out shows in some of Ireland's and the UK's most acclaimed venues (Whelans, Dublin and Islington, London). They also made celebrated appearances at Irelands biggest festivals (Electric Picnic, Indiependence, Castlepalooza), on television (Late Late Show, Ray Darcy Show and Podge and Rodge Show) and Radio (2fm, Today fm etc.). HotPress praised the band for its "powerhouse vocals that rival the enchanting beauty of Freddie Mercury and George Michael, State Lights write songs that send your spirits soaring.” Shobsy is currently developing and writing his new solo project. He is accompanied in his Rathfarnham Castle set by Joe Regan, founding member of State Lights.
-ENDS-
Concert series: Rathfarnham Rhythms: Reels to Rock
Location: Link to each event’s premier will be available on www.rathfarnhamcastle.ie and concerts can be watched afterwards on www.youtube.com/Opw/videos
Dates: 24 June – 23 September 2021
Times: 20:00 (GMT) (21:00 CET)
Website: Rathfarnham Castle
Admission: Free, no registration required