Lúnasa to launch new album Live in Kyoto at Ballaghadereen Festival of the Arts

Irish trad band Lúnasa have announced their new album, Live in Kyoto is to be launched at Ballaghadereen Festival of the Arts on August 8.

The festival takes place in Ballaghadereen, a Roscommon town on the border with Mayo, and runs from August 3-11. This year is the festival’s second run.

Lúnasa will launch the album in a performance at the town's Cathedral, as a part of Thursday’s Trad and Blues Night.

Also performing on the night is jazz and blues singer Mary Coughlan, as well as acclaimed trad musicians and siblings, Breda and Seán Smyth, the latter of which is also a co-founder of Lúnasa, setting up the band in 1997.

The album is a live recording of the folk group’s performances over 3 nights in Taku Taku, a club in Kyoto, Japan.

The LP features 10 previously unheard tracks, composed by uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, flute player Kevin Crawford, and concertina player Niall Vallely, as well as contributions by Paul Cranford, Steve Cooney, and Alan Stivell.

Live in Kyoto will be the band's second live record, following on from 2013's Lúnasa With The RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The group has also released 8 studio albums to date.