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Lucia Comnes is an American fiddler-singer-songwriter from San Francisco, California, who has been greatly influenced and inspired by the Irish tradition over the years. Her impressive musical background includes playing/touring with Joan Baez, opening for Paul Bradyand collaborating with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Colm Ó Riain, Seamus Begley and Téada.

“A singular voice… embedded with soul and spirit.” - The San Francisco Chronicle
”A fresh and invigorating take on the Irish sound.” - San Francisco Irish Herald

Ireland Tour Dates: August 2016

2 Aug - Crane Lane CORK

3 Aug - De Barra’s CLONAKILTY (solo)

5 Aug - Pepper’s Marquee FEAKLE, CLARE

7 Aug - Monroe’s GALWAY

9 Aug - Ruby Sessions DUBLIN (solo)

“I’m a student of language and folk music traditions,” says San Francisco native fiddler-singer-songwriter, Lucia Comnes. “I’ve been greatly influenced and inspired by the Irish tradition over the years.” Having spent more than a decade devoted to cross-cultural musical exploration, she is now putting words and music together as a songwriter. “I owe traditional Irish music a lot,” says Comnes in an interview about her upcoming Ireland tour, “because it’s the reason that I still play the fiddle today…The experiences that I’ve had within the living, breathing, thriving tradition of Irish music, dance, and literature have captured my imagination and probably will never let me go.”

Her impressive musical background includes playing/touring with Joan Baez, opening for Paul Brady and collaborating with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Colm Ó Riain, Seamus Begley and Téada. A storyteller at heart, Lucia writes powerful melodies with honest, earthy lyrics that reflect her connection to the elements. One of her songs, ‘Because They Never Do’, is based on the book with the same title by Irish author, Patrick Erin Monaghan, and illustrates a famine story about two young lovers who are separated as a result of emigration.

She recently recorded new songs in Nashville, Tennessee, as the Grand Prize winner of the Dallas Songwriters Contest with her song ‘No Hiding Place’, a swampy blues number that marries lines from Appalachian ballads to a Bo Diddley beat and is the first track on her most recent album ‘Love, Hope & Tyranny’ recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California. In a feature review, Folk Radio UK calls her album  “a wonderful record that balances a real sophistication, with an authentic rootsy vibe that proves simply irresistible.”

She will be touring Ireland with The Lucia Comnes Band, her five-piece folk powerhouse that combines influences from Rock, Blues, Irish Trad and Bluegrass to deliver original, upbeat Americana Roots music. They will be playing shows in Cork and Galway as well as featuring at the 29th International Feakle Festival of Traditional Music in County Clare in August. Lucia will also perform solo in Dublin at the Ruby Sessions and in the legendary De Barra’s Folk Club of West Cork.

“I think I am most excited about the Feakle Festival on August 5th,” she continues, “because I’ve been to the festival in the past as a participant, so to be returning with my band as a featured artist to present a concert in Pepper’s Marquee is really exciting and will be a tour highlight for sure.”