Once again the medieval city of Kilkenny becomes the centre of the known musical universe in Ireland as it hosts the 27th weekend of all things great in Americana, Blues, Country, Folk and whatever else tickles your fancy. As always, the craic is mighty, and the pubs and venues are packed to capacity as music pours out the doors, along with streams of visiting aficionados.
The headline acts, nineteen in all, were carefully selected and played with great variety and vigour in their performances. Trying to get to see all their shows was the challenge and hard decisions were needed in choosing between the many timings and venues.
The free trail offers over 60 gigs where the artists take the opportunity of being part of the weekend and spreading the word about their music; perhaps selling some merchandise along the way, and making new friends into the bargain. The Lonesome Highway team covered a lot of ground over the four days of music and here are our particular highlights.
Leaf Rapids pulled out all the stops to be part of the festival, travelling all the way from Manitoba in Canada. They played four shows over the weekend and it’s safe to say that they won over a lot of new admirers with their superb musicianship and creative songcraft. The sets played were generous in length and included many moments of great banter and storytelling. Songs about silver fillings, speed nuptials, barber shop assaults on customers, and vultures, mix with beautiful relationship songs such as Starling To A Starling, and story songs of unwanted pregnancies on Dear Sister. Cover versions of songs by Patsy Cline, David Bowie and John Prine are all weaved into the strong setlists and the use of theremin by Keri Latimer, creative whistling and stylish percussion from drummer Joanna Miller, fluent guitar subtlety from Chris Dunn and the grounding bass of Devin Latimer, all come together to create compelling performances. There is a very strong case for a return visit into the future based on their performances this time out.
Steve Wynn a musician whose legacy stretches back to the post-punk days of the 1980s and the jangle pop sound of The Dream Syndicate. His ability as a songwriter and incendiary guitarist has long placed him in the hall of fame when it comes to the vibrant sounds of the Alternative Rock movement and Paisley Underground bands. Visiting Kilkenny on a book tour of his autobiography I WOULDN’T SAY IT IF IT WASN’T TRUE - A Memoir of Life, Music and The Dream Syndicate, the autobiography covers Steve's childhood in Los Angeles, through to the first run of The Dream Syndicate, and the band's breakup in 1988. It is a colourful account of a time where experimentation and attitude mixed together into a heady cocktail that brought exciting electrics to the music scene. Steve performed a number of songs from the early days of Dream Syndicate and Days Of Wine and Roses, Tell Me When It’s Over, The Medicine Show and Merrittville were included, between readings from the book and great insightful questioning from Allan Jones, the renowned journalist and creative source behind such publications as Melody Maker and Uncut magazine. A very engaging event.
Jesse Malin is a musical powerhouse who exploded out of Queens, NYC in the 1980s as the frontman in bands such as Heart Attack and D Generation into the 1990s. He began a solo career after the breakup of the bands and his debut was released in 2002 to huge critical acclaim. After a run of nine albums Malin suffered a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him paralysed from the waist down. Through an incredible battle against all the odds, coupled with a staggering degree of personal fortitude and unquenchable spirit, Malin has fought back to reach a point where he is performing again.
Never looking for sympathy, he takes to the stage with the aid of a Zimmer frame and sits for much of the set, as his superb band sit alongside in solidarity and support of his never-give-up attitude. Jesse receives an emotional welcome from the capacity crowd and then turns in a performance of incredible intensity and power across two hours in an unforgettable concert. Included in the setlist were favourites such as Turn Up the Mains, She Don’t Love Me Now, Brooklyn, She’s So Dangerous, among many others. Great cover versions of songs from The Pogues, The Ramones, Patti Smith, and a heartfelt tribute to Shane McGowan on Shane are also real highlights.
The real winner however, is the certainty that the human spirit can battle against all odds and make an enduring statement. When Jesse Malin stands at the microphone and his band gather around his talent to play All the Way From Moscow and a new song Argentina, the country where he started to receive stem cell treatment for his paralysis, all bets are off and the audience join in the celebration of meeting the challenges that life throws our way. A weekend highlight to all who were lucky to be in attendance and a seminal concert in the history of Kilkenny Roots Festival.
Paul McGee
Freeman's Country Carvery cut their teeth at Kilkenny Roots in 2023 to a handful of enthusiastic punters at the back of Cleere's bar, this six-piece band performed to a packed room in Kytelers this year. Freeman's Country Carvery are a collection of some of Cork's (and beyond) finest musicians, including Patrick Freeman, Alan Comerford, David Murphy, Brendan Fennessy and brothers Declan and Kevin O'Shea. No doubt fuelled by their growing reputation and also the ongoing resurgence in classic country, their seventy-minute set was a masterclass in highlighting the cream of 60s and 70s country music. From Buck Owens to The Byrds and Marty Robbins to Gram Parsons, the show was a stream of classic songs performed to the ninth degree. Mark McCambridge (Arborist) and Lizzie No joined the party with guest appearances on a fun-filled occasion. With 'real' country music growing legs in recent years, there has been a noticeable absence of Irish acts getting on board. With the combined quality of these guys and the audience response, young and old, to tonight's show, the tide is definitely turning.
Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band introduced to me to their the musical world by their glorious assortment of alt-country DANCING ON THE EDGE in 2023, it was a pleasure to find them booked to play the festival and a thumbs up to the booker for trusting a somewhat left of centre act to perform. Attendees at the show, unfamiliar with their output, may initially have been taken aback by songs that often exceeded the ten-minute mark, but by the end of the show, they were certainly on board. With the majority of the set drawn from the 2023 album, the highlights were Free From The Guillotine, Junk Drawer Heart, Bluebirds Revisited and A Suitable Exit, where the combination of Davis’ stream-of-consciousness lyrics and the intricate playing of the band drew you in and held your attention throughout. Part Silver Jews and part Will Oldham, guitars, bass, synths, percussion and Davis’ hypnotic vocals and use of a melodica all banded together to create a stunning set by a band that won a lot of admirers by those unfamiliar with their sound alongside the previously converted.
The Delines offer a consistency in their shows in recent years by getting better and better with each performance. No strangers to Kilkenny or Willy Vlautin's former band Richmond Fontaine, the expectancy was sky high for their afternoon show in the Set Theatre, and they most certainly delivered. Their fifteen-song set featured material from their latest album, MR. LUCK & MS. DOOM and a dip into their back catalogue with Vlautin's cinematic tales of the unfortunate and forgotten brought to life by Amy Boone's silky vocals. A well-oiled unit, Cory Gray's keyboards and perfectly placed mariachi trumpet breaks, Freddy Trujillo's silky bass, drummer Sean Oldham's brushes and Vlautin's guitar contributions are telepathic-like. Maureen's Gone Missing, Don't Miss Your Bus Lorraine, Little Earl and Don't Think Less of Me are sublime and matched by the Vlautin/Boone duet My Blood Bleeds the Deepest Blue. They sign off with Dilaudid Diane, an exquisite set closer that features collective vocals by Boone, Vlautin, Trujillo, and Oldham, accompanied only by Gray's keyboards. It may seem unachievable to forge and create such joyful performing songs that play out like a soundtrack to the underworld in their home country, but The Delines manage to do so, and no more so than this afternoon's show.
Declan Culliton
Elaine Palmer provided a very welcome respite from the more loud and bombastic acts of the weekend, the North Yorkshire singer-songwriter brought her well crafted country songs to appreciative audiences at her sets in The Clubhouse Hotel and Syd Harkin’s. A true ‘Americana’ artist (her family are located in both Arizona and Yorkshire), her thoughtful songs varied from love affairs to historical tragedies, all conveyed in her quietly powerful yet achingly beautiful vocals. Accompanied by Peter McDonald on guitar, she performed songs from across her small catalogue, especially her recent release, HALF MOON RISING, recorded in California. We hope she’ll be back soon.
Our Man In The Field who are led by Alexander Ellis, on their first visit to Kilkenny, may have been the hardest working band of the weekend. Previewing the band’s upcoming album SILVERADO (recorded in Mark Knopfler’s studio), and with a superb new band line-up, they were one of the most talked about bands on the free circuit this year. Playing some new songs and older ones from their two previous records, Alexander’s story songs were particularly enhanced by the guitar stylings of Matt Owens (Noah & the Whale) on his vintage Gretsch Black Falcon. The new material has moved in a slightly different direction, away from the psychedelic country/soul sound of 2023’s GOLD ON THE HORIZON and on the foot of the live performances, we are looking forward to getting our hands on the new album.
Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton treated the smallish crowd to masterclass in roots music at his gig in the Watergate Theatre, which was entirely fitting considering the name of this festival. Paxton’s musical influences (from LA to Louisiana and the Ozarks to the Appalachians) were evident in his exhilarating set, which ranged from Mississippi blues to Cajun dance music to ragtime and everything in between. He showed his proficiency on guitar, banjo (two styles!), harmonica and piano, as well as some fine a capella singing. His between song rapport was hilarious and, all in all, we expect the theatre will be sold out on his next visit.
Eilis Boland
Ben De la Cour, who was making his first appearance at the Kilkenny Roots Festival, made what will be a lasting impression on his audience. They were wholly attentive to his songs that deal, more often than not, with the darker and less buoyant side of life and hard times. Playing in Cleere’s, he noted the overall good sound of the room but also attributed this to the sound balance, as the two don’t always come together. It highlights, to a degree, the benefit of matching an artist and their musical presence with a suitable venue. De la Cour is a distinctive vocalist and a superb songwriter, whose lyrics follow a linear line in bringing the songs to life, something that can be a little more oblique with other writers.
For the first thirty five minutes or so De la Cour played solo, with songs taken from recent albums including the cinematic opener God’s Only Son, then other songs included Number’s Game, Swan Dive, Company Town and Appalachian Book Of The Dead. He then brought fellow artist Aubree Riley to the stage to sing harmony on a selection of other songs, such as Shine On The Highway. This added a new layer to the songs and provided a balance to de la Cour’s own delivery. There were also a couple of songs taken from the soon to be released new album, including the title track, New Roses, and a song written for his daughter, We Were Young Together Once. They finished the set with a version of a song that he remarked that his uncle took a dislike to a specific part. That was the line about alligators in The Lakes Of Pontchartrain, a much recorded folk song but not one often played in his set, yet one he felt was appropriate to play here in Ireland. He finished with an unexpected encore, which left everyone appreciating his talent and heading to the merch table to buy as many of his albums as possible. Given that it was, in some cases, their first experience of Ben De la Cour’s music, it was a testament to the success of this talent and to the performance in Kilkenny.
Jim Lauderdale was playing solo in the Watergate Theatre and in his hour long set he covered songs from throughout his many albums, including the title track Planet Of Love from his debut, as well as another song from that album that has become a much-loved staple in The King Of Broken Hearts. Jim’s voice has aged with a certain grace that gives the songs a sense of longevity and highlights that he has lost none of his distinctive capacity on that front. However, speaking to a number of fans afterwards, they expressed the view that after numerous solo performances it would have been enhancing to see Lauderdale accompanied by other musicians, especially his current Game Changers band. None-the-less, the set was delivered with his usual engagement with the audience, explaining with whom a song was written, as well as with some humorous asides. Calling in his customary rhinestone embellished suit, Jim Lauderdale embraces his love of traditional country and bluegrass music, in this context, allowing his inherent skill as a singer-songwriter to shine.
Jenny Don’t and The Spurs delivered an energetic, full bore set of roots-punk, tinged with spaghetti western instrumentals and twang, over a high-octane rhythm section. The sound proved too loud for some in the setting of Cleere’s listening room and it was true that Dont’s vocals were often lost in the overall maelstrom of sound. The drummer Buddy Weeks and Don’t’s husband bassist Kelly Halliburton (there were a couple of joking remarks about that relationship) were the powerhouse behind the band, with Christopher March’s guitar adding the necessary and appealing overall layer of country influenced twang, while Don’t assisted with the rhythm on her trusty Telecaster and enthusiastic vocals. They deliver a sound that many love and is not one that is heard too often these days, but will have resonances with the likes of Jason and The Scorchers’ heyday and Irish appearances. Much of the set was taken from their current album BROKEN BLUE HEART which is a pretty fair representation of their overall sound and ethos. They are touring in Europe over the next month or so, and return to Ireland to play in Whelan’s as the final date on their European tour on June 23rd.
Stephen Rapid
Photographs by Declan Culliton, Kaethe Burt, Eilis Boland and Stephen Rapid with special thanks to those who provided additional live photographs.