Sligo Events

Music Industry Session – The Art Of Great Promotion

Following on from the success of our Sligo Music Industry Day, which was held in October 2011, we are now planning a series of networking and information events for musicians and anyone working in the music industry.

The first of these events focuses on The Art Of Great Promotion and will take place at The Model, Sligo on Tuesday April 24th from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

The evening will comprise of workshops with insider tips from local experts including The Sea Sessions Music & Surf Festival, Hawks Well Theatre, Volvo Ocean Race, iRadio, Sligo Weekender, Sligo Today, Sligo Champion and many more.

The aim of the evening is to share effective PR & Communications techniques and to introduce you to Media practioners who can get the message out about your work.

This is a subsidised event so there is a nominal cover charge of €5 to cover admin costs and a complimentary tea/coffee during the break.

The schedule for the evening is below. Each session is approx. 30minutes long

Session 1: A (good) image says 1,000 words

We‘ve all heard the well worn saying but it’s well worn for a reason. In an increasingly visual society the importance of a good visual representation for your band or event has never been more crucial to success. This session will show you how to take good images and how to tailor them to your selected format; print, poster, youtube clips, facebook, and other online platforms such as breaking tunes, soundcloud and so on.

Speakers: Colin Gillen, Photographer & Proprietor of Barry’s Music Venue, Grange, Peter Crann, Itchy Feet, and Michael Gormley, Singer- Songwriter & Photographer

Session 2: Making The Pitch

A masterclass on how to write a strong press release, and how to make your pitch to both the media and to music venues.

Speakers: Maeve McGowan, Marketing the Hawk’s Well Theatre; Noel Ely, Origin Pro Management

Session 3: Festivals, getting them and getting the most from them.

So you want to play at a festival? How do you approach them, what do they want from you and when you get there how to make the most of festival coverage?

Speakers: Sea Sessions Music & Surf Festival, Galway Volvo Ocean Race Festival

Musical Interlude: A Break for Coffee, Music and a chance to “work the room”

Closing Panel: Meet the Media: North West

At the Industry Day we met the National Media (and that session is free to watch back online) and now it’s time to meet the local and regional media. These are the journalists and producers that are most likely to give bands and events their first exposure and this is your opportunity to meet them in person, and find out how best to get that media attention.

Speakers: Robert Cullen, Sligo Weekender, Mark Cunning, Head of Music iradio, Emma Gallagher, Sligo Champion, Ciaran McCarthy, Sligo Today, Karen Spellman, OceanFm

Attendance is limited so please register in advance to secure your place. Registration is available via The Model on 071-914 1405 or online here>

Kilfenora Céilí Band bring new album to Hawk’s Well

This week The Kilfenora Céilí Band releases a new album aptly entitled “Chapter 8″ and will play the Hawk’s Well Theatre on Saturday 28th of April as part of their nationwide tour. 102 years in the business, the Kilfenora has gone from strength to strength since their centenary!

Including the new release, the Kilfenora has now a total of eight recordings to its credit, with each album documenting a chapter in its long and illustrious history. Each recording offers a snapshot of the band in space and time, revealing subtle shifts in musical tastes and direction, while at the same time, retaining that incomparable lift and drive in the music that has been the hallmark of the Kilfenora from its inception.

Chapter Eight offers a glimse of a dynamic band of immense musicality, that has adapted with ease to the monumental changes in the Irish traditional music landscape of the last two decades. In particular, the recording showcases a band that has embraced, not only the needs of the dancer, but also the needs of the concert patron who sees inherent aesthetic value in the music of such ensembles. Reflecting this duality, the Kilfenora has pioneered an innovative approach to the performance of their music. Earlier incarnations of the Kilfenora had a propensity for broadening the band’s instrumentation beyond what was perceived by many as ‘traditional’. In keeping with this vein of innovation, the present band have included Double Bass, Cello and Viola in the new album, resulting in beautiful harmonic and melodic instrumental and song arrangements that sit comfortably alongside the pulsating dance music that still sets them apart. A welcome inclusion in this recording is the contribution of two songs by renowned Galwegian Don Stiffe. The collaboration works brilliantly with the orchestral-like music arrangements complimenting Stiffe’s wonderfully evocative voice.

The album also features reels, jigs, quadrilles, military two-steps, marches, and waltzes. It was recorded in Malbay Studios in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare and produced by renowned flautist and Lúnasa stalwart, Kevin Crawford.

From village parties in the early 1900s to bigger dances in the ’30s, broadcasts in the ’40s, commercial recordings in the ’50s, foreign tours in the ’60s right down to their current international profile they have set the bar for other ensembles. The Kilfenora features fiddles, bass, cello, flutes, banjo, concertina and accordion, with what Folk Roots Magazine called “one of the tightest rhythm sections in the world”. They brewed up an open-air storm in Dublin on the eve of the Millennium. Their gig in the National Concert Hall on St. Patrick’s Day has become an annual event. The visual impact of up to twelve musicians exuberantly driving the dancers on is what sets them apart and makes them unique.

In conjunction with the release of the album, the band is embarking on a nationwide concert tour beginning in the INEC in Killarney on April 8th; The Town Hall Theatre, Galway – April 22nd; The Hawkswell Theatre, Sligo – April 28th; returning to Kilfenora, Co Clare for the launch of the album – April 29th. The tour continues on May 12th – Clasac Theatre, Clontarf, Dublin; Cork Opera House – May 18th and Glor, Ennis – May 27th for Fleadh Nua.
Tickets for the Hawk’s Well Theatre are €20/18 and are available from the Box Office on 071 916 1518 or from www.hawkswell.com.

‘It is that ultimate rarity among céilí band albums: a feat for the feet and a feast for the ears.’
Earle Hitchner, Wall Street Journal

‘Chapter 8’ is now available at
www.kilfenoraceiliband.com

Fri April 13th: Freddie White at the Hawk’s Well

Freddie White was one of the first folk musicians to perform at the Hawk’s Well Theatre 30 years ago and returns to the Hawk’s Well on Friday 14th of April at 8pm for a solo acoustic performance.

Freddie White has long been synonymous with music of the highest quality. Whether interpreting songs by his favorite writers, such as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, John Hiatt and Guy Clark, or performing his own classy compositions, Freddie’s live performances are nothing short of legendary.

Freddie has been part of the fabric of the live music scene in Ireland since the 1970’s and his albums continue to sell well, amongst his loyal and new-found fan base.
Born in Cobh, County Cork into a musical family, by age thirteen Freddie was playing in school bands and by seventeen playing professionally. At nineteen, he moved to London, where he busked in subways, and developed his unique voice and guitar style.
In 1974, he was a founding member of ‘Scullion’, together with Philip King and Sonny Condell. Later he formed ‘The Fake’, regarded as one of the seminal Irish bands of the late ‘70’s. Next came The Freddie White Band formed in 1978, which toured with Eric Clapton that year.
His first album, Live on Tour, recorded by Nicky Ryan while touring with Clannad, brought him national attention. His second album, Do You Do, was the biggest selling Mulligan Label album of 1981. With these early albums, Freddie introduced an eclectic repertoire of music, which spanned musical genres and eras, to an Irish audience.
Long Distance Runner was launched in 1985, and it featured original songs such as ‘Goodbye This Time’, ‘Down Without A Fight’, and the hit single ‘Frozen Heart’, which was co-written with Johnny Duhan. His fourth album, ‘Close To You’ continued this trend, with most of the songs self-penned. In 1994, he released ‘Straight Up’, a collection of fourteen songs recorded live by DanDan Fitzgerald.
‘My Country’ was released in Ireland in May 1999. A collection of eleven songs co-written with Ann O’Sullivan and based on the poetry of Don O’Sullivan. The album was co-produced by Freddie and Declan Sinnott, renowned for his work as producer and arranger with Sinead Lohan, Frances Black and Mary Black and as lead guitarist with Horslips and Moving Hearts.
In May 2002 the 2-CD set Lost and Found was released, comprising digitally re-mastered versions of two of Freddie’s best selling early albums, albums, namely, Live on Tour and Do You Do, under the watchful eye of original producer PJ Curtis. The re-release was warmly welcomed not only by the many whose original vinyl copies had long since worn out, but also by those who delighted in discovering these classic recordings.
In 2004, Freddie White returned to Ireland after many years living in the USA and released an all-new studio album entitled Four Days in May. Recorded in Dublin with some of Ireland’s finest musicians over a four-day period, it showcases Freddie’s songwriting prowess and unerring choice of songs worthy of remarkable reinterpretation.

Since then he has regularly toured Ireland and Europe and during the past year has dedicated himself to the development of his latest recording, collaborating with songwriters Jimmy MacCarthy and also Jim Barrett.
Released on February 1, 2008, ‘Stormy Lullaby’, is a stunning collection of moody tracks in which Freddie White’s musicianship and voice shine through. He has once again teamed up with his old cohort DanDan Fitzgerald to produce this gem. The album has an acoustic feel thanks to the input of a small, tight group of musicians from his native Cork.
‘Stormy Lullaby’ is a collection of eleven songs. Some tracks are newly written, while others (not previously recorded by Freddie) have proven their worth by becoming firm favourites with his live audiences.
‘Stormy Lullaby’ showcases what Freddie does best – that is ‘get inside’ and deliver heartrending, troubled love songs in a manner guaranteed to stop you in your tracks. It is often said of Freddie that he does not merely ‘cover’ great songs; more often than not he improves on the originals. Indeed, if this were not the case, he would surely be more highly revered for his own songwriting accomplishments.
His keen ear for quality songs, undisputed talent for interpretation and exemplary songwriting skills, stand out in this album and make his performances nothing short of legendary.
Freddie plays a solo acoustic live show at the Hawk’s Well on Friday 14th of April, 2012 at 8pm. Tickets are €18/15concession and €13 for friends/patrons of the Hawk’s Well.

Sat April 14th: Sligo Baroque Orchestra at The Canis Major

Con Brio Presents RTÉ Symphony Orchestra at the Knocknarea Arena

Con Brio presents the
RTÉ SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA in the KNOCKNAREA ARENA
in the Institute of Technology Sligo Campus on 21 April at 8pm.

The orchestra will play Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Elgar’s Cello Concerto with celebrated French soloist Gautier Capuçon.

Elgar’s nostalgic Cello Concerto is always a favourite with concert audiences and for this evening’s programme will be performed by the young French cellist Gautier Capuçon with English conductor Paul McCreesh. Both artists have performed this work regularly together so we can look forward to a very stylish performance. Renowned for his scholarly approach to classical repertoire, Paul McCreesh will definitely bring a fresh concert experience to the much-loved classical masterwork, Beethoven’s “Pastoral”.

One of the world’s leading young cellists, Gautier Capuçon was born in Chambéry in 1981 and began playing the cello at the age of five. A keen chamber musician, Gautier Capuçon has partnered Katia Labèque and Viktoria Mullova, while his other chamber partners include Martha Argerich (with whom he made a tour of Japan), Daniel Barenboim, Yuri Bashmet, Gérard Caussé, Myung-Whun Chung, Hélène Grimaud, Stephen Kovacevich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lilya Zilberstein and the Ysaÿe Quartet.

‘Gautier Capuçon plays the cello with the control and wisdom of a much older musician. The lightness of his touch and the consistent clarity of his bow strokes are quite admirable in themselves, but when combined with an uncanny sweetness of tone in the higher registers they are breathtaking.‘ Gramophone

Tickets at € 20 (18) can be bought from the Hawkswell Theatre at 071 9161518 or www.hawkswell.com.

Student tickets at €10 can be purchased at the door on the night or please contact us on our website at
www.con-brio.org.