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 album, which she’ll release in the Spring of 2024. During The Influences’ visit to Kilkenny in August 2023, Niamh Regan joined us at the Parade Tower of Kilkenny Castle and treated us to a cover of Jackson Browne’s These Days and her own – unreleased – song Nice. Which was a lot more than just that.

“This song breaks my heart in the best way possible.”

Niamh Regan’s debut album Hemet (2020, Black Gate Records) announced her arrival as a distinctive Irish songwriter. Following her studies in flute and guitar, she honed her craft as a songwriter by travelling between Ireland and California, writing about her experiences along the way. As a result, her songs seamlessly weave the intimacy of the Irish lyrical tradition with the expansive breadth of American songwriters such as Karen Dalton, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell.

Asked why she chose Jackson Browne’s These Days for her cover, Niamh Regan said: “This song breaks my heart in the best way possible. I think it oozes empathy and hindsight and it’s a joy to sing. Jackson Browne is an extraordinary songwriter and this summer I blasted his album The Pretender on repeat and it never failed to improve my mood.“

Nice is an unreleased song. Follow Niamh Regan’s mailing list to be the first to hear about upcoming new releases. In November and December, Regan will support CMAT for five dates in the UK, and will also open for Sorcha Richardson and Pa Sheehy on their Irish tours.

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Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones by Niamh Bury.