Sat 4 Mar | Doors 7:30pm | £15 Early Bird / £17.50 Standard / £19.50 On The Door
John Doyle, John McCusker and Mike McGoldrick first crossed paths as teenagers. Quarter of a century later, the fired-up folk live-wires are set to celebrate their friendship, and musical kinship, with their first studio album, The Wishing Tree. A thrilling trip through traditional, contemporary and original jigs, reels, ballads and more, it sees them branch out musically, while tracing the roots of their tunes, and acquaintance. “We all left school early, at 16, or 17, to join different bands,” recalls McCusker of their early days. “We all met back then… we've grown up together, really.”
All three musicians have gone on to global acclaim: John Doyle (Dublin – vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandola) is an Irish music linchpin and a founder member of acclaimed group Solas, who has worked with Joan Baez, Linda Thompson and Mary Chapin Carpenter. BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winner John McCusker (Glasgow – fiddle, whistles, harmonium) has played with The Battlefield Band, Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan, recorded with Paul Weller, and recently produced albums for Eddi Reader, Heidi Talbot and Kris Drever. Mike McGoldrick (Manchester – flute, whistles, Uileann pipes, bodhran, clarinet, congas) is a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner, founding member of Lúnasa, and current member of Capercaillie, who has worked with Mark Knopfler, Eddi Reader, John Cale. And that's just for starters.
Although they'd bumped into each other over the years, all three really hit it off when they started playing as part of the BBC's annual Transatlantic Sessions in 2007 . “That felt like it was a real coming together of the three of us,” McCusker says. “It's always been really natural to play together, and as pals, it always feels really natural to hang out. That's how the idea of us doing this as a trio came about: after The Transatlantic Sessions, we didn't want the fun and the music to stop. So we said, 'Well, why don't we just keep going?'” And so they did. Doyle, McCusker and McGoldrick have performed as a trio since 2009. They released a live album in 2009, and continue to tour together regularly. “We try and keep it as fresh and exciting as we can,” McCusker says. “Live, we'll often go onstage with no set-list, just to try and keep that energy up, that freshness. It's about flying by the seat of your pants, about playing from the heart, about not over-thinking things. We wanted to approach this album in a similar way.”
Venue: Malt Room – allocated seating
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult
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