KK Lewis is set to make a guest appearance in the Potato Market, Naas on Brigid’s Day, Wednesday, February 1st, as part of Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists.

The event, presented by Hot Press in association with Kildare County Council, already features events taking place in the Moat Theatre and the nearby St. David’s Church. The Potato Market will host pop-up food stalls on the day, and the area is being specially lit by Kildare County Council to mark the occasion.

KK Lewis will be joined by Papa Rua, a successful artist in his own right, who has provided backing in the past – notably during a superb performance on the Hot Press Young & Emerging Series of Instagram, run with the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

KK Lewis initially rose to prominence as a busker and she has built from that base to play major venues and festivals, including The Ruby Sessions, Whelan’s, the Kaleidoscope festival and Electric Picnic. Her single ‘First Bus Home’ was a Hot Press Track of the Day. KK also featured at All Together Now in 2022.

“The song captures a memory in Dublin City in the early hours of the morning waiting for the buses to start running again after a night out," KK told Hot Press at the time.

"It depicts my later teenage years and explores how isolating love can feel and how quickly these emotions can overtake you and leave you feeling completely lost. Listening to this song now, is like reading an excerpt from my diary, I can visualise the memory in my head so clearly and even though it was such a confusing and lonely time in my life, I can look back now with some clarity.”

Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Artists also features a concert at the Moat Theatre, featuring Imelda May, Eleanor McEvoy, Gemma Dunleavy, Susan O’Neill, Mary Stokes, Tolu Makay and Megan O’Neill. Sabina Higgins, the wife of President Michael D. Higgins, will also attend on the night and do a specially selected reading. The evening will also see the first performance of a new spoken word piece by Imelda May, specially commissioned by Hot Press for Brigid’s Day.

There will also be a special showing of Nothing Compares, the acclaimed film about Sinead O’Connor, by Kathryn Ferguson, in St. David’s Church (to apply for tickets, go here). The film will be introduced by Hot Press film editor Roe McDermott, who will also conduct a Q&A with director Kathryn Ferguson. There will also be performances by Megan O’Neill and Mary Stokes, of songs made famous by Sinead.

Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists is a special event organised by Hot Press and Kildare County Council to mark the introduction of Brigid’s Day as a public holiday in Ireland. It is part of the Brigid 1500 celebrations. It is also supported by Kildare Village.