Emily Recommends: Irish Music

I seem to be on an Irish music streak lately.

Friday night I saw Brian Houston live. Brian is a folk singer from Belfast. I had listened to a CD earlier and enjoyed it. I was also told he gave really great live performances. Even still, I was blown away by how much I loved the show! As with most bands, the CD never matches a live performance. In this case I think his CDs are excellent but the live show was outstanding. I always love when a guitarist uses their pick-up to record and layer various melodies and he did that the best I have ever seen. He also had a great stage presence. His sound is definitely folk but I think the CD has an almost country twang where his live performance had a more bluesy twist. Anyway, I definitely recommend it.

Last night I went to see The Swell Season at Royal Albert Hall. If you haven't heard of them Glen Hansard is the front man for The Frames (an independent Irish band) and has recorded an album with Marketa Irglova. They are also the stars of the movie Once, which is set in Dublin and features their music. The movie is fantastic and I already saw them in concert at The Barbican and loved it! When I saw they were playing at The Royal Albert Hall I just couldn't pass it up. Their music is simple and full of so much emotion. They definitely rank among the best concerts I've seen. I've also been checking out songs from The Frames since and really enjoy them as well.

Opening for The Swell Season was The Hare's Corner. The violinist plays in The Swell Season show and has released his own CD. The music is somehwhat traditional Irish, instrumental music. (I say somewhat because I don't know if I would be a good judge of traditional Irish music) The music was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately my car stereo will never match the Royal Albert Hall but I still recommend it!

So go check out some Irish music.