It seems like a lifetime ago that Clare Sands was playing the open mic night in Ryan’s, making her introduction to Kilkenny.
It’s a lot more recent since her last visit to the county, a stop-off at the inaugural Keep Her Lit festival with Lisa O’Neill in August 2022. Now, Sands is back in the Marble City and set for her first solo show in Kilkenny in quite some time.
A sixth-generation fiddler and bilingual singer, Clare Sands has been wowing audiences around the world with her groundbreaking fearless folk style and infinite warrior energy. Regular electrifying live performances see Clare on fiddle, guitar, percussion, vocals and cassette recordings, her live shows taking her audience on an exhilarating journey of celebration, resilience and hope.
Collaborations in 2021 saw work with some of the country’s finest folk and trad musicians including Susan O’Neill, Steve Cooney, Tommy Sands, Brídín and Liam Ó Maonlaí for the Tírdhreacha agus Fuaimdhreacha project, described by BB2’s The Folk Show, BBC2 as ‘hypnotic, tribal, and full of life.’
Last year was bigger again with the release of her self-titled album Clare Sands, earning a nomination for Best Folk Singer at the Irish Folk Awards along with a spot in the Irish Times’ top five folk albums of the year.
Now, following stand-out performances at Glastonbury, Celtic Connections and the Irish Arts Centre (NYC), it’s time for a return to Kilkenny and to Cleere’s Theatre on Thursday 28 September, one year on from the release of her latest album.
Tickets (€16.50) are available now on cleeres.com for an 8.30pm start.
