Nenagh musician to open show for Gavin James

Nenagh musician Conor Fahy is in Paris this week for what is sure to be one of his most memorable performances.

Conor will be opening Gavin James' headline show at Paris Supersonic on Friday night. Performing under his artist name Dàwna (a reference to the Irish word ‘dána’ - bold - and also dawn, as in sunrise) he landed the gig after applying to the Three: City Stages campaign, which supports upcoming artists in Ireland.

“I was ready for a Zoom call with someone from Three and Gavin appeared on the screen smiling away - I nearly keeled over!” Conor said of his surprise encounter with the Dublin luminary. “He was having coffee by the Swiss Alps at the time ‘cause he’s in the middle of the tour.”

The Nenagh man was one of four Irish artists picked by Gavin to open one of four shows between Amsterdam and Paris as part of his European tour. He will be filmed with Gavin this week around famous Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Bastille. Continuing to discover new and exciting talent from across the country through City Stages, Gavin commented: “I’m excited to have two new acts in Dáwna and Jamie McIntyre [Galway] joining us in Paris.

“I’ve been following Three’s City Stages last year and I wanted to play my part in helping them with Three’s City Stages initiative by bringing them on tour with me and hopefully opening a few doors both at home and abroad.”

‘AUSTRALIA’

For Conor, the Paris show heralds the release of his latest single ‘Australia’, which is due out in early March.

“‘Australia’ is pretty much the sadness felt from so many of our young people leaving for a life down under,” he said of the new song. “The verses kind of focus on the realities of our young people leaving while the chorus is uplifting, wishing them well, the uilleann pipes at the end reminding them there’s always a place for them here in Ireland when the day comes.”

Tara Howley plays the said uilleann pipes and fiddle on the song, which was recorded/produced by Owen Geaney in Nenagh.

Having busked in the US before making a name for himself busking around cities and towns in Ireland, Conor is no stranger to the stage either and his CV also includes supports slots with the likes of Hermitage Green and Susan O'Neill. He has a headline gig of his own coming up at ‘The Dot’ Theatre in Dublin on Friday, March 15.

See his Instagram page ‘Dàwna_music’ and Dàwna on Facebook for further information.