London Folk Magazine and News
Blásta Music Festival at The ICC
Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith launches internationally renowned line-up for Blásta Music Festival 9th to 30th November
Seven major concerts including Daoirí Farrell, Lúnasa, Matt Molloy
The Irish Cultural Centre (ICC) in Hammersmith kicks off its second Blásta Music Festival this Saturday with a concert by the the frequent international festival headline act Téada, who are joined by the legendary singer and accordion player Séamus Begley. One of Irish traditional music’s leading exponents, the band has been described by Irish Music Magazine as being ‘at the cutting edge of the next generation of Irish musicians …with a fierce familiarity with the old ways’.
This year, the ICC has extended the Blásta Festival from three events over a weekend last year to seven events in November. The word ‘Blásta’ from the Irish language is translated as ‘delicious’ and the ICC describes the seven concert festival as a ‘feast for the ears’.
Certainly, the line-up is an impressive selection of bands and musicians frequently seen headlining festivals across the world. Lúnasa, playing on 23rd November, is internationally acknowledged as being the finest instrumental Irish music band in recent times. Matt Molloy, legendary flute player from The Chieftains, teams up with fellow Traditional Musician of Year winner, fiddle player John Carty and Brian McGrath on keyboards on 22nd November.
On the singing front, solo singer Daoirí Farrell and Pauline Scanlon are at the top of their game, bringing a wealth of traditional songs to life in their own inimitable fashion. With two Radio 2 Folk Awards under his belt and performing at the ICC on Thursday 14th, Farrell is now being compared to Christy Moore. Native Irish speaker Scanlon, who started her professional singing career aged fifteen, is said to possess a voice of ‘sublime musicality’. She performs with singer-songwriter John Spillane on 16th November.
Blásta is also offering variety to feed different tastes.
On Saturday 15th, Coleraine-born banjo player Damien O´Kane joins up with California’s Grammy Award winning banjo player Ron Block for a virtuoso performance of music described by O’Kane as ‘banjophony’. With a union of transatlantic cultures, the concert will meld two different styles of banjo playing and as their audiences know, the result is always both stunning and captivating.
In a different genre, actress and singer Honor Heffernan makes her ICC debut and will introduce a cabaret-style vibe unseen at the centre previously. Playing in an acclaimed duo with Auto Da Fé’s Trevor Knight, the pair will launch their album ‘The Whistling Girl’ in the UK. The album’s lyrics are based on the words of the famous American human rights campaigner Dorothy Parker and this gig on 30th November will round off Blásta for 2019.
The Festival November line-up is
Saturday 9th: Téada with Séamus Begley
Thursday 14th: Daoirí Farrell
Friday 15th: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block
Saturday 16th: Pauline Scanlon and John Spillane
Friday 22nd: Matt Molloy, John Carty, Brian McGrath
Saturday 23rd: Lúnasa
Saturday 30th: The Whistling Girl with Honor Heffernan
The Irish Cultural Centre has existed in Hammersmith since 1995 but now occupies a recently rebuilt state of the art centre which re-opened in 2017. With an acoustically designed auditorium seating 185 people, the venue offers a close-up intimate experience for musicians and audiences alike, unrivalled by other larger venues. Since its re-opening, the Centre has provided the most diverse and extensive single programme of cultural events outside of Ireland. Its music programme featuring the best of Irish music and musicians is internationally renowned.
Blásta Music Festival runs from 9th to 30th November at the Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black’s Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9DT.
Ticket prices for individual events vary from £10 to £20, but the ICC is offering a Festival Pass to all events for £75
Twitter @MyICCLondon
