The line-up for the second Spike festival, established by Lioba Petrie and Mary Barnecutt, has been announced. Taking place in Dublin on  9–11 February, with most events at The Workman’s Club, Spike explores the diverse range of styles and approaches to cello music through concerts and workshops.

The festival will open on 9 February with a new project from cellist Petrie, in which she will perform a live film score. Also performing at the launch will be UK-based experimental musician and songwriter Laura Moody.

The second day will begin with an improvisation workshop with US cellist Zan Berry, open to young musicians, followed by an all-ages show at 2pm in which Berry will be joined by Naomi Berrill, recently described by The Journal of Music as having a ‘gentle approach to melody and harmony, with pastoral lyrics and minimalist melodies’. 

New collaborations
The evening concert on Saturday 10 February will be headlined by Blues in Space, a New York ‘avant-rock’ ensemble led by cellist Rubin Kodheli that combines rock, improvisation and jazz driven by cello melodies. Kodheli will also be joined by Moody, Ben Cashell and Kate Ellis to perform a cello quartet. 

The final day will begin with a session of Yocella – a yin yoga practice taught by Kitty Maguire with live cello performance by Anna Marcossi. The closing concert will feature a collaborative project created especially for Spike, Cello Voce. The ensemble consists of four members of Cello Ireland with cellists, singers and songwriters Vyvienne Long, Kevin Murphy, Aleka Potinga, Anna-Mieke Bishop, Mary Barnecutt and Liam Ó Maonlaí, and will perform new music as well as music from each member’s own background.

 
For more information and tickets, visit https://www.spikecellofest.com.