Belfast TradFest presents in association with Sound of Belfast Festival

Barry Kerr, Laura Kerr & Donogh Hennessy | Méabh Meir | Ó Ghlúin go Glúin

Date: Friday 17th Nov

Doors: 20:00

Venue: The Oh Yeah Music Centre,

Address: 15-21 Gordon St, Belfast BT1 2LG

All Ages - u14s accompanied by an adult

Tickets: £15

A special concert of the very best of traditional music and song featuring internationally renowned singer and musician Barry Kerr, alongside his sister Laura Kerr & Lúnasa’s original guitarist Donogh Hennessy. Joining them on the bill are Belfast songbird and member of Landless, Méabh Meir, and a new group of rising stars emerging from the hotbed of traditional music that is Madden’s Bar, called Ó Ghlúin go Glúin.

Brother and sister Barry & Laura Kerr, hail from the southern shores of Lough Neagh. They learned their music in County Armagh, instilled and distilled by the passionate encouragment of their father and mother. Their family pub in Lurgan ‘The Céilí House’ was a hotbed for traditional music in Ulster at the turn of the millenium and sowed the seeds for a life in music and art.

Barry Kerr is one of Ireland’s most accomplished artists. As a highly regarded singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and painter he is extremely prolific in his creative output. Having recorded his first album at the age of seventeen he has gone on to tour the world as a solo artist and has been equally at home sharing the stage in the company of artists such as Cara Dillon, Dan Tyminski, Lumiere, Dervish and Steve Cooney.

Laura Kerr is a highly regarded fiddle player from Lurgan, Co. Armagh. In 2018 she released a widely acclaimed duet album, Castor Bay, with her brother Barry and has recorded as a guest musician on a long list of traditional Irish music albums. Laura’s driving northern fiddle style and her tasteful accompaniment of songs is testament to the musical household she grew up in where her parents’ family pub, The Céilí House, played patron to some of Ireland’s finest musicians. Whilst living in Dingle, Co Kerry for almost ten years, she was a member of Séamus Begley’s Síbín Orchestra and she has appeared on and indeed presented TV and Radio programmes on RTÉ, TG4 and BBC.

Donogh Hennessy is a guitarist, composer, music producer and studio engineer who has been working mostly with Irish traditional and folk music best known for his recorded and live work with artists like Lúnasa, Sharon Shannon, Lumiere & Seamus Begley.

Meabh Meir is a traditional singer from Belfast and member of four part harmony traditional vocal group Landless whose second album is due for release this year. Since moving home to Belfast from Dublin she has gravitated more towards songs and singers from her native Ulster and she now teaches traditional singing classes for Belfast Trad. She co-founded Belfast Singing Circle, Belfast city’s first open unaccompanied traditional singing circle. Landless have performed throughout Ireland and abroad, most recently at Tradition Now at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Belfast’s TradFest 2023, and Hartlepool Folk Festival 2023. Meabh’s recent solo performances include collaborations with Array Collective for their winning Turner Prize project, at Cavan Arts Festival 2023, and at the Ulster Museum, Belfast.

Ó Ghlúin go Glúin is an exciting new group of young traditional musicians from Belfast. Springing from a well of traditional music fostered at the Glengormley School of Traditional Music and nurtured by the leading traditional musicians of this city, in the home of traditional music that is Madden’s Bar. Belfast TradFest are very excited to present their major stage debut at the Oh Yeah Centre.

This is one not to be missed!