Best Of Irish Traditional Music Tour

These days the young turks sit comfortably enough alongside the older generation as the worldwide growth of our native muse multiplies apace. What a neat idea then to bring four of them – Conor Byrne on flute, fiddler Maebh O’Hare, guitarist Gavin Ralston, and vocalist extraordinaire Andrew Murray together for a tour. From the opening bars of ‘The Trip To Seapoint Set’, a composition of Conor’s, that we were in for no ordinary night was glaringly obvious.

The playing of all three was beautifully smooth throughout, with the interplay between fiddle and flute being, as befits a couple, drumtight. Gentle, simpatico, backing from Gavin Ralston’s guitar – never loud, but forceful where necessary – was entirely in order, for this music was born to breathe. New tunes predominated over old, a sure sign that the lessons learned from elders have been well absorbed, and with integrity. A piece like ‘Bulgarian Red’, slow and stately was a delightful indication of the direction the new can take.

As a vocalist Andrew Murray, on this evidence, has few peers. Possessed of an amazing emotional range, he truly gets the best out of great songs like Thompson’s ‘Dimming Of The Day’, and the traditional ‘Lord Franklin’. There’s no fuss, just a sense which inspires the audience to hang on his every word. Those who missed these gigs – the band are whipping round the country as I type this – may well have missed one of the gigs of the year.