C o n c e r t s - 2024
May 8th 2024 - John Doyle
Wrea Green Institute, Station Road,
Wrea Green, Preston, PR4 2PH
Name many of the most notable recordings and/or performers in Irish music and it's a fair bet that John Doyle had something to do with them. Liz Carroll; Eileen Ivers; Karan Casey; Solas; Michael Black; Mary Black; the trio of McCusker, McGoldrick and Doyle.......
John is one of the most influential musicians in the genre today and featured regular, for many years, in the hugely popular BBC Scotland "Transatlantic Sessions" regularly broadcast in Ireland and at the Celtic Connections Festival having performed there with Americana greats Jerry Douglas, Tim O'Brien, Rodney Crowell, Sara Watkins, Kathy Mattea, and many others.
In recent years, John has focused primarily on writing songs based on the varied experiences of Irish emmigrants - his great grandfather on the torpedoed S.S. Arabic in 1915; famine victims on the coffin ships to Quebec; Confederate and Union Irish fighting against one another at Fredericksburg; an Irishman's journey through the First World War and, on his new release THE PATH OF STONES, he solidifies his place in the pantheon of Irish greats as a masterful composer and vocalist as well as one of the genre’s most emulated players.
Support by Paul Whiteley
Entrance £12
May 22nd 2024 - Jack Badcock
Wrea Green Institute, Station Road,
Wrea Green, Preston, PR4 2PH
Singer and guitarist, Jack Badcock is a hugely experienced performer, having toured extensively around the world, in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, predominantly as frontman and founding member of his multi-award winning, internationally renowned world-folk band 'Dallahan'.
In recent years, between time away on the road, he has focused his time at home in Glasgow on writing his own material and now draws on his performance experience to deliver a solo show of original songs, interpretations of traditional songs, and poetry set to his own music. This material reveals his craft of thoughtful lyrics that explore human history, cosmology, personal experiences and questions about our world all delivered with a musical sensitivity clearly influenced by American folk, funk and soul music as much as traditional music from Britain and Ireland.
“World class vocalist. Jack Badcock has a perfect ballad singers voice” - Froots
Support by Andrew Green
Entrance £12
June 5th 2024 - Tony McManus & Julia Toaspern
Wrea Green Institute, Station Road,
Wrea Green, Preston, PR4 2PH
Tony McManus is the leading celtic guitarist worldwide and has just been listed as one of the 50 of the best acoustic guitarists of all time by Guitar Player Magazine. While Tony is known as a soloist his frequent collaborations with diverse musicians have always been a significant part of his work.
Julia Toaspern is a multi-talented musician from Berlin who combines classical training on violin and voice with a wide interest in genres such as jazz, baroque and traditional music. She has released two albums of original songs and has performed in both classical and singer/songwriter modes on both sides of the Atlantic. On top of all this her skills as a guitarist are prodigious and make an exciting fit with Tony’s work.
Their twin guitar treatment of traditional music is unique and each supports the other in exploring the harmonic possibilities of these old, and not so old, tunes. Each of the pair both flatpicks and fingerpicks at the highest level but always at the service of the tune rather than a display of technique. Her violin can effortlessly morph into a fiddle as she weaves from Italian madrigal to Scottish reel. Julia’s songs go to the heart of love and loss, hope and survival and are inflected with musical input from a wide and eclectic experience of musical life. Tony’s and Julia’s arrangements are rooted in deep musicality and heartfelt expression.
Having met over a conversation in Berlin about JS Bach, together they play and sing music that speaks to them and hopefully through them to a wider audience
Support by Steve Canavan Trio
Entrance £12
June 19th 2024 - Katie Doherty and the Navigators
Wrea Green Institute, Station Road,
Wrea Green, Preston, PR4 2PH
Katie Doherty & The Navigators is a collaboration with fellow North East based musicians Dave Gray and Grace Smith .
Best known nowadays for her work with theatre, Katie has composed music for countless shows for companies like the RSC, Northern Stage and most recently the award winning rural touring musical 'beyond the end of the road' produced by November Club. As a performer Katie has toured with and supported artists such as Kathryn Tickell, Karine Polwart, Ray Davies and Nitin Sawhney. Her songs are food for the soul, prepare for them to stay with you...
Katie's album Flow is "one of the best albums of 2022" - Bright Young Folk
Support by Andy Ray
Entrance £12
