October Nights Music Festival – October 28-29
Saturday, October 28 and Sunday October 29
Ballina Arts Centre, 8pm
Tickets: €16
It’s back! The never predictable October Nights does its ‘all styles/ no barriers’ thing once again on the October Bank Holiday Weekend (October 28th & 29th), across two head-spinning nights!
Here’s the line-up:
Saturday, October 28
Peter Broderick & Guest
“Broderick switches in an instant from a goofy romanticism to the sublime” – Pitchfork
It’s a true pleasure to welcome the American-born musician, maverick (and foraging enthusiast) Peter Broderick to October Nights. Since 2007 he has toured the globe both as a solo act and a collaborator with the likes of Tim Burgess (Charlatans), Nils Frahm, Efterklang, Daniel O’Sullivan and a host of other international acts.
Broderick’s music effortlessly crosses folk song, classical influences, the great American songwriters and poets of the 20th century and much more. It’s all done with an infectious charisma. He recently performed at the sold-out ‘Erased Tapes’ 20th anniversary concert in the National Concert Hall in May 2023.
Special Guest: Peter will be joined by Eoghan Higgins.
Visit: www.peterbroderick.net Follow: www.instagram.com/bropeterick/
Alannah Thornburgh
If we learned one thing from October Nights 2022, it was the absolute necessity to invite the brilliant harpist Alannah Thornburgh back for the 2023 edition.
A native of Swinford, she’s an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and composer with a focus on traditional Irish harp. Alannah’s music explores her family’s musical heritage, reimagining ancient airs and tunes from the Irish harping and American Appalachian and Jazz traditions. As well as performing solo and as a member of Alfi, she’s regularly collaborating and guesting with Lemoncello, Brigid Mae Power, Anna Mieke, Ye Vagabonds among others.
In 2023, she releases her debut solo album entitled ‘Away with the Fairies’, all original compositions inspired by stories of fairy folklore and mythology in Mayo.
“I gathered most of the stories from people I know in Mayo – eg: my Grandad, former primary school teachers, local historians, Michael Chambers (head guide at the Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park)” says Alannah.
The album was recorded in Foxford with musician and engineer Stephen Doherty.
Visit: www.alannahthornburgh.com
Laurie Shaw
The Wirral-born Laurie Shaw is like no other.
The artist described by Nialler9 blog as “the most prolific artist in the world” comes to October Nights with a full band for a very special performance – he’ll debut new songs written about Ballina during a week-long residency in Ballina in July 2023.
He has walked the streets, read all about Ballina’s history; met the characters and supped the pints. We’re all intrigued to see how our town Ballina and people are reflected in song. The ‘Ballina Album’ will be released in late September on bandcamp and Spotify.
By the age of 23 Shaw had released a staggering 80 albums (check his bandcamp). The same Nialler9 music blog included his album Bat Sanctuary among the ‘best albums of 2022’.
These days, the seat of his creative output is his bedroom studio in his parents house in Kenmare, Co Kerry where he continues to release music with nods to Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Dylan and others.
(The Ballina Album was kindly supported by the Ballina 2023 Community Events Fund and a number of donors including Declan Kiely, Morgan McAndrew, Alan Honan, Aonghus O’Shaughnessy, Kenneth James, Finbarr O’Connor and Cormac Quinn and others).
Follow: instagram.com/laurie_shaw__
Sunday, October 29
“Irish Hip-Hop is booming… But nobody is quite as eclectic as Celaviedmai.” – Sunday Times Culture Magazine
Celaviedmai, one of the most exciting names on the Irish hip hop scene headlines the Sunday night of October Nights.
Mai’s music blends genres within urban contemporary music and she often combines English, French and Irish in her lyrics – paying homage to her Ivory Coast roots.
Taking inspiration from artists such as Missy Elliot, Azealia Banks, Chance the Rapper and others, the rapper first began turning heads when she landed on the front cover of Hot Press magazine, followed by a cover story in the Sunday Times Culture Magazine.
Her hard-hitting lyricism and magnetic stage presence singled her out as unmissable at some of Ireland’s biggest summer 2023 festivals including Longitude, Body & Soul and the Electric Picnic.
She’s had a crazy 12 months, not forgetting Other Voices; supporting Kelis in Dublin and releasing much anticipated new music in September 2023.
Visit: www.celaviedmai.com Follow: www.instagram.com/celaviedmai/
Celaviedmai
Síomha (pronounced She-vah) dances the line effortlessly between folk, jazz and neo-soul, taking audiences on an unexpected and unforgettable journey with her soulful melodies.
Her debut album ‘Infinite Space’ – described by The Irish Times as “a seriously accomplished and self-confident debut” was produced by Grammy-nominated Tyler Duncan.
The beautiful landscape and rugged nature of her native West of Ireland are a huge source of inspiration for this proud Co. Clare artist. Always proud of her Irish heritage, she performs her songs in both the English and Irish languages.
Síomha has already toured with Paul Brady; performed at Electric Picnic and was featured on RTE radio 1 St Patricks Day special performing with the RTE Concert Orchestra.
Fresh from a performance at the world renowned Cambridge Folk Festival 2023, we can’t wait for her Mayo debut at October Nights.
Visit: www.siomhamusic.com Follow: www.instagram.com/siomhamusic
Síomha
Local heroes YOP are a Krautrock, psychedelic and punk influenced duo from Ballina, featuring Conor Hickey and Sid Murphy. The duo have been favourably compared to Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd.
Formed in 2016, they’ve kept the punk and alternative flame burning bright in Ballina by performing, promoting international touring acts and DJing across various venues in Ballina. Previous performances include Ballina Fringe, Spilt Milk (Sligo) and GGI Fest 2022.
2023 marked the release of their debut EP ‘The World is a Hell’ on WahShtuff Records.
About the EP Hickey says, ‘I really wanted the songs to get an emotional response from the listener, I wanted it to take them somewhere else out of their day to day lives.’
“The World Is A Hell is coined by anger, escapism and the need for radical changes for our world” – Mangowaves music blog
Listen: https://yopballina.bandcamp.com/ Follow: www.instagram.com/yop_the_band/
YOP
