Christy Moore & Declan Sinnott - July 3

Christy Moore is one of the all time great Irish musicians. While this much is impressively evident of his latest album, the critically acclaimed Listen – a wonderful collection of songs which are superbly delivered by the maestro – it is in live performance that Moore's status at the head of the table takes indisputable form.

There is a wonderful intensity about Christy's interpretation of songs which sets the bar for other performers. But he is also capable of great humour, spontaneity and wit, ensuring that a live performance will always throw up something unpredictable and brilliant. His sidekick Declan Sinnott, meanwhile, has an unerring instinct for when to add his masterful guitar fills. Between them, they conjure a very special kind of live magic.

Christy, of course, has been at the forefront of the Irish folk scene for an astonishing 40 years, since his first major foray into the genre with the Prosperous album that was the genesis for Planxty. His solo career has seen him record a series of classics, including 'Ride On', 'Ordinary Man' and 'Voyage', scoring a catalogue of hit singles along the way.

He also teamed up with Donal Lunny et al to explore a unique blend of folk, jazz, rock and trad with Moving Hearts, leaving us with indelible memories of some of the most exhilarating music ever made.

Christy's musical cohort, Declan Sinnott, is himself a guitar legend. A member of the original Horslips line-up, he left that experiment early on but emerged in time as a record producer of rare sensitivity, notably forging a stage and studio partnership with Mary Black. He featured in the original Moving Hearts too, and more recently has been working extensively with Christy, both live and in the studio.

DID YOU KNOW?
• This will be Christy's sixth year playing Live At The Marquee.
• On leaving school Christy took a job as a bank clerk. A 1964 a move to Miltown Malbay in Co Clare brought him into the company of trad legends Willie Clancy and Micho Russell.
• Christy published a book, One Voice: My Life in Song about his musical life and the songs that have inspired him. It came out in 2000.
• In 1991, Christy became the first solo artist to sell out ten consecutive nights at The Point Theatre in Dublin.
• When Ireland was threatened with the building of a nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point in Co Wexford, Christy was one of the most vocal opponents of the scheme. The plan was later abandoned.