The Ocelots
Brandon and Ashley Watson are on the road somewhere in England when we talk. They’re staying at an old inn, “like something from an English fairy tale,” Ashley says, where ...
Basciville
When Susan O’Neill is singing a couple of feet away, it’s pretty hard to notice anything else really. But even so, I remember being extremely impressed by her band, by ...
Peter Doran
Sometimes all it takes is one song. Whether it is a melody, arrangement, lyrics or a voice. Or in the case of Peter Doran’s Clockwork (off his sixth album All ...
Joshua Burnside
Life is funny sometimes. When I was planning the sessions at Kilkenny Roots, I reached out and asked if Joshua Burnside would be able to make his way south from ...
Junior Brother
Kerry-born musician Ronan Kealy has carved out a distinctive space in Irish music as Junior Brother, with his blend of traditional folk sensibilities and contemporary songwriting. Known for his intricate ...
Áine Gordon
Áine Gordon has recently started a new chapter in her artistic career with the release of her first EP The Stray (produced by Joshua Burnside). The 4-track release has garnered ...
Jeffrey Martin
‘I can’t think of anything that has an ounce of meaning or dimension that doesn’t come from failure’, Portland songwriter Jeffrey Martin states on his website. He must have been an ...
Willy Mason
He walked into Bridie’s Bar & General Store carrying nothing. Not an instrument or a bag, not even a cup of coffee. Upstairs, he picked up two of my friend ...
Annika Kilkenny
Annika Kilkenny’s music is a harmonious blend of inspiration and originality. In our conversation, the twenty-year-old Irish songwriter opens up about the influences that have shaped her music and the ...
John Blek
Cheer up! That’s the simple message from John Blek, and the title of his brilliant new album coming in September. Leading up to the album, Blek released the songs Country ...
Myles O’Reilly
As an extraordinary filmmaker, Myles O’Reilly documented a special era in emerging Irish music, mostly from 2009 – 2020. He calls it ‘an epic journey filled with enormous creativity and ...
Ro Yourell
The first session recorded during this year’s visit to Kilkenny in Ireland, was with Dubliner Ro Yourell. Joined by Finnish-born but Ireland-based Fanni Fagerudd on backing vocals, the singer covered ...
Susan O’Neill
There’s a couple of albums being released in the autumn of 2024 that I’m really looking forward to playing, and high up on that list is Now In A Minute, ...
Jeffrey Silverstein, Bobby Lee & Joe Harvey-Whyte
What could three musicians from Portland (USA), Sheffield and London (England) have in common you ask? Well, more than you’d think. In the case of Jeffrey Silverstein, Bobby Lee and ...
Small Town Jones
During the Kilkenny Roots Festival, Small Town Jones delivered an unforgettable session for The Influences at Bridie’s. The intimate performance featured captivating covers of Ray LaMontagne’s Jolene and James Warren’s ...
David Murphy
David Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist based in Cork, Ireland known best for his work with the pedal steel guitar. Murphy’s unique application of the pedal steel guitar has resulted in ...
Gemma Hayes
Gemma Hayes recorded ‘At Constant Speed’ and two covers of Sparklehorse’s ‘Sunshine’ and Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’.
Villagers
Last Friday, May 10th, Dublin singer-songwriter Conor O’Brien returned with the seventh Villagers album, named That Golden Time. A couple of weeks prior, I met up with O’Brien in an ...
Aoife Ní Bhriain
The Influences went to Kilkenny, Ireland and invited local musicians to join them in the tower of the monumental Kilkenny Castle to record sessions. And they did. One of the ...
Broken Chanter
In just a couple of weeks, Chorus Of Doubt – the new record by Broken Chanter – will be released on Glaswegian label Chemikal Underground. It doesn’t take much to ...
Rachel Grace
When someone like Gavin Glass suggests another local artist to film with, you simply say: ‘Yes, please’. In The Influences’ fifteen years of existence, I’ve filmed many musicians who I ...
Mick Flannery
Last Summer I visited Ireland to film sessions and Mick Flannery was pretty high up on my wish list. It didn’t work out logistically then, but luckily the singer – ...
David Keenan
David Keenan, the songwriter from Dundalk in Ireland, is one of the most inspired and inspiring songwriters I’ve gotten to know in the past few years. Ever since that acoustic ...
Niamh Regan
Niamh Regan is a critically acclaimed songwriter from county Galway, Ireland. Her songs are windows into her world, snapshots of the intimacy of everyday life. Regan recently finished recording her second ...
Conchúr White
Conchúr White, a singer-songwriter from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, was on his way to a show in Cork on Ireland’s south coast this August, when he and his fiance ...
Niamh Bury
The Influences went to Kilkenny, Ireland and invited local musicians to join them in the tower of the monumental Kilkenny Castle to record sessions. And they did. One of them ...
Ireland, Sessions, TakeRoot festival
Adrian Crowley
Three years after filming his first The Influences session, Irish songwriter Adrian Crowley returned for another, during TakeRoot festival in late 2021. Yesterday we reached the 20.000 subscribers mark on ...
Ireland, Sessions, TakeRoot festival
John Blek
One of the great things about the TakeRoot festival in Groningen is that you’ll get to see some of your favourite acts perform and always will discover one or more ...
The Influences is coming to Ireland
Great news: I’m heading to Kilkenny, Ireland in August, to film sessions during Kilkenny Arts Festival. Over the course of two weekends, I will be filming a couple of acts ...
Krea
Karen Cowley compares releasing her first solo EP with ‘cycling a bike without stabilizers for the first time’. The Callows is her first solo work as Krea after her band ...
Sessions, Ireland, TakeRoot festival
David Keenan
In August 2019, I stayed a few days with my friend Davie Lawson and his lovely family in Ireland. Upon arrival, his eldest son called me into his room to ...
Adrian Crowley
Having listened to many of his lyrics, many times, it isn’t a surprise that talking to Irish songwriter Adrian Crowley and hearing him talk about his work and influences is ...
The Young Folk
Early in 2015 I met The Young Folk from Dublin and filmed a session with them in Amsterdam. Later in the year we got to hang out a couple more ...
The Young Folk
The first person to introduce me to the Irish band The Young Folk was Davie Lawson, who you might know of one of his hundred sessions for Onder Invloed. Not ...
