THE ROAD WEST
The Road West is a series of concerts at the Town Hall Theatre running from Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 August and featuring an amazing line up of some of the best Galway musical and singing talent. Highlight of the show will be Mairtín O’Connor and his band: Cathal Hayden on fiddle, Jimmy Higgins on percussion and Seamie O’Dowd on guitar. Technical brilliance, a flamboyant style and a versatility that seems to encompass every form of traditional music of countless countries mark out Máirtín O’Connor as a squeeze box player in the very top echelon.
Galway-based Maírtín O’Connor is one of the most versatile Irish button accordion players. His musical cv includes Thom Moore’s “Midnight Well”, The Boys of the Lough, Dolores Keane’s “Reel Union”, De Dannan, Len Graham’s “Skylark” and the original Riverdance orchestra. His seemingly effortless style of playing encompasses his traditional roots but takes in a wide variety of styles from mazurkas, a czardas, reggae influences, and a Venusian Waltz. There’s a lot of fun to be had in a Mairtin O’Connor concert!
The concerts are loosely based on his album of the same name: The Road West was inspired by a journey from Galway to Clifden made in haste one day after Máirtín discovered he was supposed to be playing a gig there. The concert, like the journey follows the contours of the Connemara landscape with all its twists and turns and will feature many of his original compositions drawn from his traditional roots.
Joining Mairtin and his band for the concerts will be singers Don Stiffe and Mary McPartlan. Don, fresh from his success at reaching the final round of the All Ireland Talent show on RTE, is a ballad singer of the highest talent. Galway based singer Mary McPartlan will bring a distinctively evocative voice to the project, allowing her to move easily between styles, ranging from the folk song tradition, to original works. Special guests will be The Molly Hicks with Ruth Dillon and Bernie O’Mahoney and their celebrated vocal harmonies and bluegrass interpretations.
All shows start at 8pm.
Booking is now open at the Town Hall Theatre 091-569777 or on the web at www.tht.ie
