Music
15 Apr 08

(Love) notes from a small island

He's one of the most distinguised and individualistic figures on the folk scene, an artist who is not afraid to take risks or challenge convention. Now John Spillane has written a moving paean to Ireland - and to his mother.

John Spillane’s take on traditional music is always idiosyncratic. His latest record, My Dark Rosaleen And The Island Of Dreams, is, in his own words, “an album of songs in honour of the Island of Ireland, Mother Ireland, and of my own Mother – Mary Teresa Spillane”.

The album will be in the shops on the Friday April 18 or April 25 depending on whether you believe the press release or John’s MySpace. Frustratingly, given that EMI no longer maintain a separate Irish website, the main UK site doesn’t list the release at all.
John has been touring since the start of the month to promote the album’s release – if you can really differentiate between his normal gigaholic output and the album tour – with an extra Dublin date being added on Sunday April 20 when he once again takes control of Whelans. The remaining dates are in Limerick on Friday April 11 where he’ll be rolling it out at Dolan’s Warehouse, Dundalk’s Spirit Store on Thursday April 17, Dolan’s again on Friday April 25, de Barra’s in Clonakilty on Thursday May 1, the big one – Cork Opera House – on Sunday May 11, Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny on Friday May 16 and Mullingar’s Stables on Friday May 23.
The coolest things to come out of Australia for many years, Angus and Julia Stone wash up on the shores of this little country in May. Their trippy, sun-drenched acoustic shimmer will doubtless lighten up our days as the touch down in Belfast on Saturday May 10 for a gig at the Speakeasy before scooting cross country and southwards for a gig in Galway’s Roisin Dubh the following evening and then across to Dublin where they play the Sugar Club on Monday May 12.

Tickets for this year’s Cambridge Folk Festival go on sale on Sunday May 11th. The line-up features some notable international acts including k.d. lang, Joan Armatrading, Levellers, The Imagined Village, Billy Bragg, John Hiatt, Judy Collins, Allen Toussaint, Seth Lakeman, Eric Bibb, Eliza Carthy and Martha Wainwright. The Irish flag will be hoisted by Altan and Kila, who along with Beoga make up a small – but perfectly formed – raiding party. The festival itself takes place this year from Thursday July 31 to Sunday August 3.
My favourite cow-punks the Old 97s have just released a fresh studio album in the shape of Blame It on Gravity. Cooking Vinyl released their last album, the immaculately chaotic Alive and Wired double album on this side of the Atlantic. There don’t seem to be any plans yet to release the new album here. Thank god for the internet.
Not many people are likely to unite the Sun newspaper and Radiohead but this unlikely accomplishment has been landed fairly and squarely by Scottish folk singer Julie Fowlis about whom Phil Selway of the ‘head said ‘you’d need a cold heart indeed, to not be touched by her music’ while the Sun reckoned ‘Julie can’t fail to capture you heart’. Of course there’s always the fact that side by side in her list of influences she has the Bothy Band and Madonna – strange bedfellows anyone?
On the back of the tremendous reception for her album Cuilidh she has been touring hard and is once again visiting Ireland for a number of dates including shows at An Droichead in Belfast on Saturday April 12th, Dublins Rathfarnham Castle the following evening, Leap Castle in Roscrea on Thursday April 17, the West Cork Hotel in Skibereen on Friday April 18 and Tralee’s Siamsa Tire on Saturday April 19.