Kilkenny’s St. Canice’s Cathedral will host December Sounds with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Cormac Begley, Bird On The Wire, Malojian, Seamus Fogarty and more from 20-22 December as part of Yulefest Kilkenny.
Kilkenny singer-songwriter and folk musician Bríd Lyons will open December Sounds on Monday, 20th December.
Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlaí will also perform on that date. O’Maonlai has toured the world with his band and in more recent years released his debut solo album Rian which received high acclaim. He recently performed alongside the Irish Chamber Orchestra at Féile Classical in Dublin’s 3Arena with Something Happens, An Emotional Fish, the Frank & Walters and Irish Women In Harmony.
They’ll be joined on the night by solo bass, baritone, treble and piccolo concertina player from West-Kerry, Cormac Begley. Coined as one of the leading lights within Irish traditional music, Begley plays in a range of collaborations with Liam O Connor, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Rushad Eggleston, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Lisa O’Neil and Ye Vagabonds.
He was nominated for the RTE Radio 1 ‘Folk Instrumentalist of the Year’ in 2019 and his debut solo album has received nine 5-star reviews and was shortlisted for the Irish Times Album of the Year 2018.
John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist whose work centres around traditional and folk material. He is a founding member of the band Skipper’s Alley, with whom he has toured extensively throughout Europe and America. Flynn scooped two awards last week at the RTE Folk awards for ‘Best Emerging Artist and ‘Best Folk Singer’.
Fresh from a sold-out Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Bird On The Wire – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen will perform at St. Canice’s Cathedral on Tuesday, 21st December. The 11-piece collective of outstanding Irish musicians interprets the music of one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
Fronted by Pauline Scanlon and The Whileaways, the Bird On The Wire perform many of Cohen’s best-loved classics and some lesser-known gems. They lead an incredible ensemble including Will Merrigan (bass), Dave Clancy (keys) and Eamon Murray (drums) with lush string arrangements copper fastening the elegance of the performance.
Closing December Sounds 2021 includes a stellar lineup of Irish musicians. Presented by Rollercoaster Records, singer-songwriter Elise is Kilkenny born and based. Her recent release Ragdoll is a dark and poetic alternative folk-pop song about self-reflection and has received high acclaim since its release earlier this month.
Over the last few years, Malojian has released four stunning solo albums, along with collaborating with some musical legends, including Steve Albini, who earned his chops producing Nirvana, The Pixies and more! Folk duo Lemoncello will also perform on the night.
Their shows have been coined as ‘intoxicating’. Irish alt-folk and electronica alchemist, Seamus Fogarty joins the closing night of ‘December Sounds. Fogarty is originally from Mayo and released his third album A Bag Of Eyes in November 2020.
December Sounds is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and delivered locally by Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Office.
Full proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to local charities and organisations the Ciara Lawlor memorial fund & Cois Nore (20 December), Chernobyl Kilkenny Outreach Group & the Aislinn Centre (21 December) and Amber Women’s Refuge and the O’ Neill Centre (22 December).
Tickets priced at €10 including booking fee are available from Rollercoaster Records, Kieran St, Kilkenny online and in-store. Tickets go on sale this Monday from 10am.
