DON'T let the rain and gloom darken your mood, as there's plenty of new music and events to brighten your week on the way, as detailed by your friends at Northern Winds in this week's column. Expect new releases and all-ages entertainment right on your doorstep!
News came this week of a collaboration between Snow Water Productions and local culture curators Chorsblossom. Both are known for their strong affiliation with all things homegrown and both companies announced their joint stage at this year's Maritime Mile Festival. Following a successful run of events in May, event programmers at Snow Water again offer up a carefully selected line-up of free concerts.
Join the team and performers on August 6 over three venues – SoundYard, Abercorn and Hamilton Dock – as they play host to a line-up of great local talent, such as pop singer Sasha Samara, songwriter Cathal Francis, folk artist Lucy bell and more. A free event for all ages, this is something to put in the calendar and get down early for.
Down South, the Irish Government recently unveiled plans to allocate funds to support the country's night-time economy through the creation of late-night cultural spaces. With an investment of €11 million, the initiative aims to rejuvenate the music and arts scene while fostering a safer and more vibrant after-hours atmosphere.
The scheme is part of a broader effort to bolster the creative sector and nurture cultural activities within Ireland's nightlife landscape. By designating specific venues as late-night cultural spaces, the Government intends to provide artists and performers with dedicated platforms to showcase their work, thereby enriching the overall artistic community.
The late-night cultural spaces will be eligible for financial assistance to implement noise reduction measures, addressing potential conflicts between nightlife establishments and residential areas. These measures aim to strike a balance between fostering a thriving night-time economy and respecting the peace and tranquility of nearby neighbourhoods.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, emphasised the importance of supporting Ireland's cultural ecosystem while recognising the value it brings to the economy. The funding aims to offer artists and creatives an opportunity to flourish, while enhancing the overall nightlife experience for both residents and visitors alike.
The scheme underscores the government's commitment to the arts and music sector, acknowledging its potential as a driver of economic growth and social cohesion. By fostering an inclusive and vibrant nightlife environment, Ireland seeks to retain its reputation as a thriving cultural hub and reinforce the significance of the night-time economy in the country's overall cultural landscape.
As always, we look to shine the spotlight on releases from some of our top independent artists this week as our way of ending the column, the aforementioned Lucy Bell being one of them. Fresh off the release of her new track 'Quiet', the forerunner to her debut EP 'Emotion Pending', Bell is spreading her wings as a songwriter. Pulling in aspects of folk music, pop traditions and contemporary production methods, she's performing and singing at her very best on this latest track. Talking about the song, Bell says: "Quiet is the song that means the most to me out of everything I’ve written, the one I’m proudest of. Following themes of love, naivety, self and regret, it closes the door on accepting the past in order to move on.”
Also on the rollcall this week is the subversive collaboration between Ciaran Lavery and Joel Harkin. Two accomplished songwriters in their own right, they channel Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens and Phoebe Bridgers on their surreally melancholic 'Letters From Alan To George'. Lo-fi blends with folk and singer-songwriter genres as they expand upon and fictionalise a supposed feud between George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster—the ghostwriter of the original novelisation of Star Wars. It's weird, wonderful, heartbreaking and tremendous.
