Anyone familiar with the live music scene in Ireland? I’m sure it varies from town to town, but I’d like to get a better grasp of what to expect, what pay is like, and what the general vibe is.
My husband is a musician with a new album coming out soon, and we’d very much like to go to Ireland for a sort of working tour to support it. We’re getting in touch with the contacts we have to find some gigs and exposure. There is a guitar festival in Clonakilty September 20-23 that he’s been invited to, so we’re using those dates as the ones to build around. At this point I’m still uncertain as to whether or not he’ll be traveling with a whole band, a few or just as a solo.
Anyway, his music (this is always tricky to succinctly describe) is Americana / Rock / Roots / Blues, and the venues we’d expect would be small- to midsize clubs and pubs.
His great-grandparents emigrated from Ballyporeen, we’re both excited about the opportunity to see the country his family comes from.
Any advice on what to expect or how to proceed would be welcome!
That sounds like a great plan. All best wishes for your trip. May I suggest that you also post your question on http://nadsters.com/nads/ , which is a small message board consisting mostly of Dopers/ex Dopers in the U.K. and Ireland. Certainly there are some musician-ish members, and certainly some Irish, although I don’t really know what the overlap is. But I’d think there’s a chance that somebody there might be able to advise. I hope so, anyway, because it sounds a lot of fun.
My sister was just visiting a small town near Dublin this summer. In the local pub, once a week, they have a traditional Irish music group perform. They noticed my sister enjoying the music and invited her to sing! She’s no pro, but has a pretty good voice. They let her pick her songs, and she sang a couple of Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson tunes while they accompanied her (they knew the songs too, obviously). She had a blast, and they were very appreciative.