A fundraising gig will be held in the Button Factory, Dublin 2 from 7pm this evening, Wednesday 22nd April, to raise campaign funds for People Before Profit’s Dublin Central by-election candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin.
Several hundred tickets have been sold already, reflecting the momentum behind Eoghan’s campaign.
The gig will feature performances from John Francis Flynn, Varo, Niamh Keady-Tabbal, Saltaire and the Resistance Choir, as well as from Eoghan himself.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin said “The by-election is an important opportunity to win a seat for the radical left and build momentum towards ending more than a century of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rule at the next general election.
“I’m delighted that so many people have bought tickets for tonight’s fundraising gig. It’s another important indicator of the momentum building for our campaign.
“I’m proud that so many great artists will perform at the event this evening. These are artists I admire greatly and it is a privilege to have their support. I look forward to a night of celebration of music and the culture that makes our city creative, vibrant and alive”.
Artists who will perform:
John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who creates contemporary music using traditional and folk material. His debut album “I Would Not Live Always” won 2 awards at the RTE Folk Awards.
Varo are Dublin-based singers and fiddle players Lucie Azconaga (from France) and Consuelo Nerea Breschi (from Italy) who perform Irish traditional songs and tunes with arrangement influences from the Folk, Baroque and Classical traditions, weaving around the melodies with harmonies, drones and countermelody.
Niamh Keady-Tabbal is an Irish-Lebanese singer and researcher from Kinvara Co. Galway. Through her work documenting border violence in the Mediterranean, she has gathered Arabic songs of exile and resistance from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. She sings these alongside sean-nós songs that she has gathered from Irish singers, carrying them all in a gripping, expressive voice that feels at home in both languages.
Saltaire brings together three distinct musical voices, shaped by years of performing in acclaimed Irish traditional and folk bands and as sought-after session musicians. Comprised of singer/cellist Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz, guitarist Ian Kinsella and bodhrán/bouzouki player Conor Lyons, Saltaire creates a rich tapestry of sound, fusing Irish and American folk and trad styles.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin is singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Dublin, whose musical roots are in the Conamara sean-nós singing tradition. A versatile performer, he draws on a variety of vocal techniques like lilting and throat singing, concertina playing that breathes with his singing, and a lifting flute style that all combine to create a rooted, expansive soundscape. His songs, carried by a powerful, resonant voice, have a storytelling quality to them as they move through themes of struggle, loss, resistance and healing.