Friends In High Places: How an Irish-American legal group aims to help musicians in Ireland crack the States

For Irish musicians, the stark reality of trying to negotiate your way through US immigration became apparent recently, when legendary Irish folk singer Andy Irvine spoke about the difficulties he was having, in an interview with the Irish Echo.

“It’s my last tour, because the US powers-that-be just make it too difficult,” Irvine, who has toured the US on numerous occasions in the past, said. “From the 30 percent withholding tax, to the tiresome, expensive and ultimately humiliating application for a work visa – which very often doesn’t come through in time; most of all, to the totally unfair disparity between a US musician touring Ireland and all this shit we have to go through to tour over there. Enough is enough.”

There were also widely reported cases back in March of several artists being turned away from SXSW Festival for not being able to square with America’s rigorous customs checks. And there was further controversy when SXSW was forced to remove a clause from festival contracts, which threatened that immigration authorities might be notified in situations where a foreign artist might “adversely affect the viability of Artist’s official showcase.”

MORE DANGEROUS

It all makes for grim reading. In the current era of uncertainty, ushered in by the Trump administration, the fear is that the door is closing on Irish musicians, whose ambition is to make it in a country which has often provided a vital springboard for them in the past.

Danny Grace is a Limerick-born lawyer. He and his businessman partner, André Archimbaud were appalled at the thought that Irish musicians might be shut out of the US. They decided to take action, stepping into the breach to offer a much needed helping-hand to both fledgling and established Irish musicians looking to travel to the States. Under the Cara Entertainment Group umbrella, they aim to book gigs, negotiate sponsorship deals and take care of immigration.

“When an artist first comes to the States, there’s a lot of pressure, so imagine getting to come here to do your work without that,” André says. “At Cara, we say let us do the heavy lifting when it comes to immigration, booking, management, social media and marketing.”

The guys first got together at a meeting of the Irish Business Organisation.

“When I got the pitch from André my eyes lit up,” adds Danny, “What we’re doing is a huge challenge, but I think it’s something that badly needs to be done. A year ago if an artist turned up at customs with his guitar in the hope of getting through, it was risky. Right now? It’s 10 times harder, 10 times more dangerous, 10 times more likely that he’s going to get turned away if he doesn’t have a mountain of paperwork done.”

You might think the rules would be clear-cut. But in Trump’s America that ain’t necessarily so.

PERSONAL MISSION

“As an immigration lawyer,” Danny says, “I’m getting email blasts from the government on a two- to three-day basis with some sort of update. They’re constantly changing things, such is the uncertainty right now – which makes our work absolutely vital for foreign artists.” The pair are bringing 30 years’ worth of experience to the table and believe they can fight the corner effectively for Irish musicians in particular.

“Just from growing up in Ireland, I know that it’s many people’s dream to gig in America,” says Danny. “So to have people here who will provide a full range of services, including immigration, booking, management, everything, I think is huge for any Irish artist. Being able to say ‘I have a guy in America looking out for me’ gives them a foothold.” Archimbaud has roots in Sligo, so he too is looking on this as a personal mission.

“We both have a deep passion for the creative process, the arts in general and music specifically,” André reflects. “I studied music production when I was in college and I drifted away from it – and so this is a way to answer that calling for me, on a personal level. I’m excited by the possibilities. Imagine if you could come here, five times/ten times a year and tour up and down the east coast without any problems? There’s opportunities there and it’s our job to uncover them.”

For more information on the work being done by the Cara Entertainment Group, visit caraentertainmentgroup.com