Junctions is back.

The new series will feature some of Ireland's most exciting musicians working at the cutting edge of the tradition in the intimate surroundings of the Green Room at Cork Opera House. It will start with a unique line-up of three of Ireland's most exciting and influential musicians of recent decades and continue with performances by two up-and-coming youngs bands who are helping to revitalize the world of traditional music.

 

Concert 1 - 4th October

Laoise Kelly (harp)
Cormac Breatnach (whistles, flute)
Tommy Hayes (bodhran, percussion)
From County Mayo, Laoise Kelly has recorded on over 50 albums with many of Ireland’s foremost artists including The Chieftains, Sharon Shannon, Dónal Lunny, Matt Molloy, Mary Black, as well as Kate Bush and American country/bluegrass icon Tim O’Brien. She has also released 2 solo albums and a duet album with Clare fiddler Michelle O'Brien.  “Laoise Kelly is a young harpist with the disposition of an iconoclast and the talent and technique of a virtuoso.” Irish Times

Laoise Kelly

Whistle player Cormac Breatnach is most known for his work with the groundbreaking group Deiseal with whom he released 2 seminal albums. Throughout his long career he has played with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Vanessa Williams, and Donal Lunny. Cormac’s music is highly influenced by jazz and blues and recently, he has acknowledged and embraced his Spanish/Basque roots.

Cormac Breatnach


Tommy Hayes has been at the forefront of traditional Irish music for over 30 years. In a career that has exemplified diversity he has performed and recorded with most of the great names in traditional music and beyond including Stocktons Wing, Puck Fair, Altan, Liam O'Flynn and Riverdance. In addition to his work as a performer, Tommy has written music for film, TV, theatre and dance.

Tommy Hayes

 

Concert 2 - 1st November
We Banjo 3


Featuring 3 tenor banjos, fiddle, mandolins, tenor guitars, guitars, banjolin and vocals, We Banjo 3 combine Irish music with Old-Time American, Ragtime and Bluegrass to produce an exciting, fun, invigorating sound guaranteed to thrill audiences. Tenor banjoist Enda Scahill has been in the music performance and recording business for many years and has toured extensively in the US and Europe. He has now teamed up with Ireland's hottest young banjo players, brothers Martin and David Howley. With over 10 All-Ireland titles to their name, Martin and David bring scintillating rhythm, verve and innovation to their music. Add in the world-class multi-instrumentalist Fergal Scahill on fiddle, guitar and bodhran and the whole melting pot comes alight! We Banjo 3 play with swing and soul, effortlessly combining the best of Irish and Bluegrass banjo music, mining the rich vein of the American Old Time tradition and thoroughly reinventing the banjo band sound. Modern rhythms, traditional melodies, virtuosic technique and innovative arrangements of music and song add up to an incredible feast of banjo and mandolin music – guaranteed to put a smile on your face and get your feet tapping.

We Banjo 3

 

Concert 3 - Date to be confirmed
Moxie


When 5 young Irish musicians hibernate for 2 weeks to explore their music by the ever changing sky and the rhythmic movements and sounds of Ireland’s west coast Atlantic sea you get Moxie, a group who are inspiring audiences with their new palette of 21st century Irish music. The band includes Cillian Doheny (tenor banjo/guitar), Jos Kelly (button accordion/keyboard), Darren Roche (button accordion), Ted Kelly (tenor banjo) and Paddy Hazelton (percussion). Their music has a solid traditional backbone. Jazz, rock, bluegrass and world music rhythms and harmonies are creatively structured around this base treating the listener to layers of rich and intricate sounds as the band deliver a punchy programme of both their own compositions and old tunes with a new emerald vibe.  

Moxie

 

 

 

 



Junctions started as a series of concerts at the Pavilion in Cork City in 2011 focusing on the broad theme of innovation in traditional music. Each month saw hosts Buille and Karan Casey joined by a stellar array of guest musicians, singers and dancers. Ireland’s leading cutting edge musicians will share the stage with some of the most exciting and progressive traditional musicians from around the world.
The concert series featured musicians who have been at the forefront of the development of traditional music over the past 40 years such as Dónal Lunny, Martin Hayes, Steve Cooney and Arty McGlynn, as well as musicians at the cutting edge of the current scene such as Michael McGoldrick and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. They were joined by some of the most high profile performers from related traditions across the world such as multiple Grammy-winner Bela Fleck, recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Chris Wood and Andy Cutting (England), Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson & Donald Shaw (Scotland), and Dirk Powell & Aoife O’Donovan (USA).

Cork has long been a centre of innovation in traditional music stretching back to Seán Ó Riada’s and later Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin’s time at the Music Department UCC and the legendary Éigse na Laoi festivals of the mid-90s. Junctions seeks to continue in that tradition by providing an important platform to showcase ‘new’ traditional music and encouraging and promoting innovation.
The recent opening of the magnificent Pavilion (run by former Lobby Bar owner Pat Conway), provides the series with the perfect venue and hopefully a natural home for traditional music for the foreseeable future.
Junctions – New Traditional Music Encounters is made possible by generous funding from the Arts Council’s Deis scheme.

Visit our YouTube channel to see videos from the previous Junctions gigs and from the artists in our upcoming shows - www.youtube.com/user/junctions2011