(in alphabetical order)
Jim Corr, from Tyrone, has been singing and composing songs for many's a year and he has had a chequered career, widely travelled and much admired wherever he goes. He is intimately matched to his 5-string banjo and Jim has a very distinctive style and sings with feeling and with passion. We are delighted to have Jim among us for the weekend.
Dordán was the name chosen by a male voice choir formed in Waterford about four years ago, with the membership drawn from diverse backgrounds but brought together by a genuine love of music! The choir’s repertoire is both wide and varied, an eclectic mix from across a range of musical genres which includes Gregorian chant, through to the different aspects of folk, pop and have even sung folk ditties emanating from the Congo! Included in that repertoire are choral works composed by our musical director Damien Kehoe. The choir has performed extensively both home and abroad in such places as Normandy in France and Ancona in Italy, where some of Damien’s choral work has been performed by local choirs there . You could say we take our music seriously but not ourselves and approach each performance with that in mind. In Irish the word Dordán can mean to buzz, hum, or murmur. So there!
Jim and Pat are probably the best-known singers of sea shanties and maritime songs in England and Ireland respectively. They met at a Maritime Festival in France in 1999. Jim sang with the late-great and much missed Johnny Collins for over forty years and Pat occasionally sang with Johnny when he came to Ireland. This resulted in this trio being invited to do a series of Maritime concerts in Gdansk and Gdynia for the Tall Ship Race of 2009. Pat was singing with a Polish group Brasy and after their concert, amalgamated with Jim & Johnny for several concerts, both on shore and on the Baltic. Following their final concert in the ‘Zejman’s Sailors Klub’ near Gdansk, Johnny passed away in the early hours of the morning. Since then Jim and Pat have been singing together internationally and have recorded a predominantly maritime album ‘Hard Aground’ Jim also sings with The Keelers (Newcastle) and Pat sings with Garland (Dublin) and also sang with the Press Gang (Dublin).
The Molgoggers are an Irish shanty group singing out of Cobh in the County of Cork. They have sung all over Ireland and are on their third visit to the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival in June of this year. We have enjoyed their company on several occasions and have been delighted to sing with them, to them and to be entertained by them. A hearty crew no doubt.
Tom Mullane has been singing ballads and folk songs for as long as he can remember and is widely known in Waterford for his involvement in the music scene locally. He has also played in several local groups over the years (including Hooks and Crookes for a while).
Donal comes from Boyle in Co Roscommon. While he has a background in traditional music he has always had an interest in song and lyrics. He has been writing songs for close on 20 years. As a singer/songwriter he has toured the UK extensively. He has also toured in Germany, Spain , USA, Australia/New Zealand. Christy Moore described his songwriting as a "A Pure Joy". Dick Glasgow of the Black Nun Folk Club, Antrim said about Donal – when you've been to one of his concerts you feel like you've made a new friend.
Matteo was born in Dublin back in the 1970s, and grew up in the counties of Cavan, Kildare, Galway and Limerick. With familial and cultural connections to Italy and Zambia, what lies beyond Irish shores has always been a source of inspiration. Matteo has been playing music since he was five years old, and, although primarily a piano player, he loves stringed instruments also. He gained a doctoral degree researching Irish rock music and a book entitled 'Atlantic Rock', is imminent. At the festival he'll perform a number of sea songs, folk and other popular songs, as well as an original composition from his 2018 album 'Across the Ocean'.
Omega3 are four Waterford musicians (despite their name!) who play an eclectic mix of music that is hard to categorise. You'll have to come along and listen to them playing, and then make up your own mind!
Based in the Netherlands, Paddy's Passion sing a great mix of sea songs, shanties and Irish music, and, apart from travelling to shanty festivals all over Europe, they are regular visitors to Ireland, especially to Clare, to savour Irish traditional music and no doubt to entertain in their own inimitable way.
Fintan J. Power was born in Cork and raised in Waterford, and although he lived in England, Kenya, and Carlow, he's been back in Waterford for some time. Shortly before he left for Kenya, he sent a poem entitled Tranquillity to what was then The Cork Examiner, only to find it a while later published as the competition winner in a sister newspaper named The Irish Weekly Examiner. That spurred him on, and he has been writing poetry, along with the occasional short story, ever since. His works have appeared in a wide range of publications in Ireland and the UK. In April 2007 he and other writers set up Compass Writers. He has published two books of poetry: Impetus in 2001, and Waterford: This is where… in 2009. He contributed to Compass Writers’ first publication Between Water, Land and Sky in 2011. He regularly reads at open mic events, at festivals and with Compass Writers. He has performed with Hooks and Crookes on a number of occasions and is looking forward to sharing the same stage with them again during the festival.
An exciting new local group of experienced traditional and folk musicians, featuring uillean pipes, banjos, guitar and whistle and very strong vocals. Not to be missed.
Riggerloftets are a large shanty choir singing out of Tonsberg in Norway, where they have been singing for many years. We have met them on a number of occasions, here in Ireland and in Norway, and it was indeed our privilage to sail with them from Tonsberg to Llangesund (where we first met them) on the Berntine, an arctic sailing ship built in 1890. They sing a delightful set of sea songs, shanties and Norwegian songs.
Ryan's Fancy from Waterford (not to be confused with a band of a similar name from Canada) was formed in 2015 when Jim Casey, Paddy Ryan and Shane Walsh came together bringing a blend of accordion, whistles, guitar, highland bagpipes banjo and mandolin. The group can be heard throughout many pubs in the Waterford area. The band are currently undergoing a name change and from summer 2019 onwards will be known as Tradó.
Scheepsfolk are also based in the Netherlands and they too sing all over Europe at various shanty festivals (shanties are very popular in Europe) and we are delighted to welcome them back to Ireland and to Waterford.