Frankie Gavin and De Dannan at Nenagh Arts Centre

Irish folk music powerhouses Frankie Gavin and De Dannan will perform at Nenagh Arts Centre this Saturday, November 7th.

Irish music today is a global brand. Millions around the world can recognise a fierce, rip-roaring set of traditional jigs or reels when they hear it. But Frankie Gavin and De Dannan bring something different and unique to today’s audiences. Sure, they play furious jigs and reels – it’s always been one of the band’s trademarks - but their music now has other very special qualities.
Their choice of material, arrangements and style of playing combine powerfully to set traditional Irish music in a wider cultural context. What other line-up infuses this inherited music with such a wide range of influences – from gypsy jazz to contemporary pop music, and from mainstream European classical music, to sentimental Irish-American ballads?
The band’s latest recordings, the CD 'Jigs and Jazz II' (2013) and their 2014 single, which pairs Handel’s 'The Queen Of Sheba' with Paul Mc Cartney’s 'Calico Skies', are perfect illustrations of the fusion of sounds and influences you will hear at a live gig.
Frankie Gavin and De Dannan have thrilled audiences wherever they perform – from Sochi Music Festival before the Winter Olympics to a state dinner for President Micheal D Higgins, and not forgetting their several White House performances for American presidents, all the while maintaining close contact with their roots: many of the band’s home gigs are in bars, hotels and theatres across Ireland.
Just back from a tour of Japan, experiencing this twenty-first century line-up live will change your view of Irish music. It may even change your life!
The Nenagh Arts Centre show gets underway at 8pm. Tickets cost €20 and bookings can be made at (067) 34400 or nenagharts.com