-from the michaelbrunnock.com camp:

Irish Artist Michael Brunnock to Support Veteran Rockers The Saw Doctors at Governor’s Island festival

The Saw Doctors set at the Governor’s Island Concert Series will kick off in style this week with Irish singer-songwriter Michael Brunnock wowing the audience at this inaugural event.

Never before has there been a concert series of this magnitude and scope on the island and for three days concert-goers will rock out at this nearly sold-out festival, but on the third day, Brunnock will open for the legendary Saw Doctors and it promises to be a not-to-be-missed concert.

This ground-breaking festival will open with the music man from Meath in Ireland and his melodic and thumping folk-rock songs are set to bring the 20,000-plus crowd to life.

With iconic songs like ‘Man Overboard’, telling of the Irish experience of coming to the US for the first time, to the hypnotic charms of ‘Fallen Leaves’ picking out rhythmic heart-wrenching lyrics, chords and melody, Brunnock is a force to be reckoned with.

Playing regularly as a well-known and loved singer in the singer-songwriter circuits in Downtown New York, Brunnock wowed a sold-out audience in the Bowery Ballroom earlier this year, has a residency slot at the Red Lion, completed a tour in Ireland and is fast becoming the up and coming Irish voice on the acoustic New York scene.

“It’s a great honor to open for Irish legends the Saw Doctors. They’re a lot of fun and I’m excited about playing to such a large outdoor festival. This will be a very special gig and I’m looking forward to it very much,” Brunnock said.

His second CD, ‘So I Do’, received to high critical acclaim, was described as “Neil Young meets Coldplay on a bus while on vacation in Ireland” and “a truly a fresh and unique album”.

Limited tickets are still available for the event and can be obtained from www.govislandconcerts.com.

Further information is available at michaelbrunnock.com and http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock.

When: August 23, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm (doors at 4:00 pm)
Where: Governor’s Island, Highline Ballroom, 431 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011 between 9th and 10th Ave, (212) 414-5994. Ferries run continuously throughout the show; every 30-45 minutes
How much: $42.50 ($32.50 ticket + $10 ferry ticket) / $45 day of show. $65 VIP ticket includes guaranteed seating in VIP section close to the stage. Buy online now

By Natalie Herman

The world of Irish music lost a legend today.

Ronnie Drew, 73, lost his battle to cancer at 2pm in Dublin on August 16, 2008.

Drew, who founded iconic band The Dubliners in 1962, was battling throat cancer for more than a year. In January, a star-studded group of Irish musicians recorded a tribute song to him written by the Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, with Bono, The Edge and the former Golden Horde singer and songwriter Simon Carmody.

According to a statement released by the singer’s family, Drew died at St Vincent’s Private Hospital.

An official statement from U2.com:

‘Ronnie has left his earthly tour for one of the heavens…’ Bono has paid tribute to the great Ronnie Drew, who has died aged 73, after a long illness.

‘Weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs… that’s what I loved about Ronnie Drew’s voice and spirit. Music to inspire, to console… an optimism that was contagious… that’s what U2 took from The Dubliners.

‘Ronnie has left his earthly tour for one of the heavens… they need him up there… it’s a little too quiet and pious. God is lonely for a voice louder than His own… then the bad weather will break…’

View the video for “The Ballad of Ronnie Drew” here.

View Ronnie Drew videos on YouTube.

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

U.S.

IRELAND

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

AUGUST 8, 2008

MORE SUMMER RELEASES!

July 28, 2008

June 6, 2008

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

After getting a blessing from Yoko Ono, Valfest prepares to sweep Belfast off its feet. Friday, August 8, 2008, ground breaks on the innovative concert festival, described as “A Festival of Music, Peace, and Love.”

Being held at McCrory Park, Main Hall, Whiterock Road, Belfast, NI and put together by local music group The Vals, Valfest was designed to complement the West Belfast Festival as a way to “bring all sections of the community together for a day of Music,Peace and Love,and to let local talent of all musical genre’s and backgrounds showcase their talent.”

The Vals have been tireless in their efforts to recruit acts for their brainchild since June, and their vigilance paid off. In addition to the big-name acts secured to perform, Yoko Ono, peace icon and widow of John Lennon responded to an email from The Vals’s Paul Doherty:

Hi, Paul Docherty! I was in Belfast. Yes, I was. I was invited by the museum there to do a show and I did. I loved the cloudy, wet, and windy city. I’m sure when you live there all year around, you won’t be too happy. Or maybe you would be. You will now. Now that you are doing the Peace and Love Festival you are connected to all of us of family of Peace of the world. Good for you.
Lots of love, yoko

Hello Magazine ran a blurb about Ono’s message regarding the festival.

Another pioneer of “Peace and Love,” Henry McCullough will headline the festival with his band. McCullough, who was the only Irishman to do so, played the original ‘Peace and Love’ Festival Woodstock in 1969; at the time, he played with Joe Cocker. McCullough has also played in Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings.

Eric Bell, a founding member of Irish legends Thin Lizzy, will play with his band. (Thin Lizzy is best known for hits such as “Whiskey in the Jar,” “Jailbreak,” and “The Boys are Back in Town”).

Also appearing - and at the heart of this festival - are a number of local acts joined together to make a difference.

All proceeds from the festival will benefit Parents Education as Autism Therapists, or P.E.A.T., a local organization which relies mainly on donations and funding to survive.

The newly-renovated O’Donnell’s G.A.C in West Belfast, close to the activity of Féile an Phobail, is an excellent location for this musical feast.

State The Vals:

Our main reasons for running Valfest is that times are changing politically in our city and beyond,hopefully for the better,though as seen on our streets,much can be done to better the situation with on-going violence.We obviously cant change this but what we can do is show that we are a great community with great people and that we do want to make a difference.

We don’t have financial backing or sponsorship at all,but solely rely on our own willingness and the willingness of the local bands who have put themselves forward to represent Belfast and raise money and support for local charity and community.

Belfast at times is ’starved’ also of such showcases of local talent,so this year,and every year for the foreseeable future,we hope to rectify this through Valfest,where the people of Belfast can ‘Come Together’.

For more information on the festival, visit the official Valfest MySpace
or contact:

Email: Valfestinfo@yahoo.com
Phone: 07794304259

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

“I’m not trying to change the world,” sings Sean Nilsson at the beginning of “Sleepwalking.” However, after listening to Field Recordings from the City, the debut CD from Sheltered in Sound, one would beg to differ.

Anchored by the scathing “Welcome to Generica,” a song which pithily decries the empty culture encountered all too often, this significant CD addresses a number of heady topics affecting society today. “Mother’s Tears” touches on the futility of war with the on-point observation, “The rich watch the death count while the poor foot the bill.”

If the southwestern United States had a sound, this would be it. Nilsson’s somber vocals, which evoke Tom Petty on more than one occasion, sing the desert. One can envision the sagebrush speeding by outside the window of a vehicle headed down a long straightaway with the mountains looming in the distance. The sorrowful harmonica conjures up tumbleweeds ambling across the barren plains.

It is apt that the record contains a track called “In Birth and Death” as mortality seems to be a prevalent theme throughout the disc. The beautiful violin and cello in this song punctuate the tone.

The cello, played by Alex McMaster, is also excellently employed on “Mir,” a gorgeous piece about loneliness on both the personal and global scale (”I’m feeling like the man on Mir / the one they left in orbit for a year.”) Nilsson’s voice reaches its pinnacle with this song.

Songs like “No Words,” “Requiem in A flat minor” and “One Last Song” indicate that Nilsson is equally as steadfast in his personal convictions as his social ones.

He may not be trying to change the world, but it is possible that with this disc, he can change the way some see it.

Purchasers of the hard-copy CD from CDBaby.com get an additional treat – inside the cover is a pair of special codes to enable you to access a digital download of the EP Field Recordings from the Basement, which includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” Grab your CD and head to Sheltered in Sound to unlock your three bonus tracks.

Field Recordings from the City is also available – without the bonus tracks – as a digital download from iTunes.

Field Recordings From the City was released in February 2008 on SOCAN.

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

By Natalie Herman

The title track, “Whole,” in its third-place position on the album, serves to define the entire tone of the album. The song “wHole,” itself, is a play on words, and the songs you will find here are the stories of individuals who are anything but “whole.” The songs collected on this sophomore CD from Little Palace are all searching for those missing pieces to complete the self, the situation, the search. “Is this me under my skin?” The journey to find the self begins with this idea.

The most stand-out song is “Tourniquet,” with its infectious bass line, superior percussion, and guitar solos that compel you to sit up and take notice. Combine this with melodic harmonies and the easy way that the lyrics spill from Michael Brunnock’s generous store of brilliant material and lines which seem plucked from the Theatre of the Absurd, and you have a song of unmatched caliber.

“End Game” finds Brunnock’s usually tender voice stripped and raw. His voice digs its heels in the dirt and launches at you, quelled only when joined by Ann-Louise Mulvaney’s chilling harmony. The strings which intro this song mirror Brunnock’s voice, simultaneously course and refined. This piece is an instant favorite.

“Soft White and Indigo” is an earnest offering which on the surface seems so simple, but it is an exercise of both vocal and string feats of excellence.

It is clear from songs such as “Tourniquet,” “My Way,” and “Whole” that Brunnock is comfortable with language and that language is equally comfortable to pour forth from Brunnock like a stream running swiftly down a mountain, taking the curves where needed without missing a beat.

Percussion is a definite strong point on this album and its employment serves as the mortar the binds the ballads to the rockers.

One does not need to understand Gaelic to recognize the incompleteness expressive in the lonesome vocal strains of the beautiful elegy, “An Buan”.

Invoking gems of wisdom (”Every path is the one when walked by companions,” and the deliciously dual-meaninged, “pride is enough to bring a nation to its knees”), posing thought-provoking ideas with no explanatory redundancy (”Happiness was born a twin”), and lamenting the inevitable situations when “sympathy is a luxury,” this is a thinking person’s compilation.

Despite the excellent musical talents that contribute to make this album, the vocals of the three members of Little Palace are what really define this band. Their voices rise together, pass through one another, become one, and just as easily return to themselves like beams of colored light crossing and changing and separating again. Occasionally, a guitar will sneak itself into the trio to become the fourth vocalist.

Unfortunately, Little Palace disbanded in 2000, but Brunnock has continued as a solo artist, releasing his solo debut, the brilliant So I Do, in June of 2007. It is a slight departure from his work with Little Palace, but continues in the same vein of imaginative and intelligent songwriting found on Whole. On one point, Brunnock hits the nail on the head: he is, indeed, on his way.

This review was originally published in December 2007.

Little Palace was Michael Brunnock, Ann-Louise Mulvaney, and Anthony Cregan

wHole was released in 2000 on Tula records. It is available through CD Baby and iTunes.

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2007 Natalie Herman and 2008 Paddy-Whacked Radio™

By Natalie Herman

FREE TUNES!

Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News

Copyright © 2008 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™