Now in its ninth year, the Candlelight Sessions is the flagship ‘open-mic’ night in Waterford. Duke Special played in the room one stormy night to a small local crowd and Declan O’Rourke performed his first solo headliner there – a gig that was packed to its 50-person capacity.

In 2000, Tom took over Phil Grimes’ pub in the heart of Waterford City, formerly owned by the legendary Waterford hurler. Almost immediately, he started The Candlelight Sessions in the intimate upstairs bar, initially to give local musicians a platform.
However, it soon caught the attention of performers outside the Déise. Johnny Kiely came on board in 2004 as the main organiser and sound technician. Between them, they've seen hundreds of acts pass through the doors – a few who've gone on to international acclaim (including an extremely shy Fionn Regan) and some who are currently knocking on the door of success, such as Jenny Lindfors, Wallis Bird and Neil White.
Tom is keen to point out that: “Every musician has to start somewhere. You’re not going to sell-out Vicar St. at the first attempt and Grimes’ is an encouraging and supportive venue for those first gigs.”
Kiely interjects: “We mainly get young acts, people who’ve got two or three songs together and want to play them to an audience. They can come along and play with a proper sound system and get instant feedback from an audience. It’s invaluable for burgeoning performers, and can be the first step on the road to… well, wherever the road takes you!”
When challenged about the conveyor belt of Irish singer/songwriters, Tom quickly becomes animated: “In the past month, we’ve had a solo jazz guitarist, African drumming, a human beatbox, a stand-up comic and an amazing local musician, David Jacob, who describes his music as ‘breakcore drill and bass'. That’s hardly the stuff of Damien Rice wannabes!”
Grimes’ and other places like it are vital to the grassroots development of music in Ireland.
“I’ve been in touch with a few other small venue owners, the likes of De Barra’s in Clonakilty and Cleere’s in Kilkenny, about putting a network of sorts together to help emerging acts do a tour of Ireland,” he reveals.
Johnny also has ambitions to develop the Sessions further, mentioning a new website and hinting at something more ambitious: “All I’ll say is don’t be too surprised if video cameras become a fixture in the near future!”
Reiterating the venue's ethos, Tom concludes: “We've no preconceived notions as to the type of acts that go on. If you’ve got an acoustic guitar and a fine singing voice, that’s great. But if you’ve got a loopstation and made your own instrument out of a tin of Castrol GTX oil, that’s even better!”

The Candlelight Sessions run every Thursday night from 9.30pm in Phil Grimes’. For more information, phone 051 875759 or email [email protected]