Sharon Shannon turned to the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for help on her latest album Flying Circus, whose classical touch has propelled her much-loved traditional style to exciting new heights. Opener ‘Top Dog Gaffo’ playfully sets the tone for an album that exudes a sense of serious fun. There’s a delicious lightness to her skittery playing on the three-piece suite ‘Windchime Dance’ and she creates an appealing wistfulness on the sumptuous ‘Butterflies’, while ‘Wood Road’ has a soft-rock delicacy that further lifts the mood.