Missing your live music fix? Immerse yourself in folk music from the comfort of your home with Folk Nights at Glór.
An Ennis based multidisciplinary art's centre has taken to live-streaming to bring the art's sector into homes across Ireland.
Glór announced a new online 'concert and chat' three-part series last month. Starting on Thursday 8th of April, the online event will take place every second Thursday until the 6th of May.
Emerging and well-established folk artists from across Ireland take to the Glór stage to perform. The artists then head to the couch to chat with series producer Paula Carroll.
Paula, a producer and presenter on the long-established West Wind traditional music strand on Clare FM, chats with the musicians about making music in a radically altered Arts world.
"We took to the armchairs to chat about how music-making has changed in today's world and what it might now mean for musicians and for us, the audiences," said Paula.
With Glór's auditorium being mostly empty because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Paula wanted to fill the auditorium with music, even if the only audience were the crew.
"It felt absolutely magical to have these great musicians perform for us. We hope you'll feel the magic too," said Paula.
"I know we're all confined to our couches for entertainment these days, but through the wonders of technology, you can still join the conversation, we can still have a collective experience. Hope to 'see' you there on the night!" she concludes.
The first of the "folk-clubs for our times" is a folk collaboration between Maria Ryan and Ger O'Donnell, two accomplished musicians from Limerick. Tickets are just €9, including the booking fee and can be bought HERE.
The series's production team is almost all from East Clare, including lighting, sound, director, producer, and photography.
Ruth Griffin
Ruth Griffin, a Feakle based photographer and new Tourism East Clare member, was amongst the team. She was last at Glór in February 2020 for an Aslan concert, so getting to be back there was amazing.
"I have a deep love of music so being in the company of so much talent was amazing!" said Ruth, "couple that with the fact that it felt like an almost private concert every day I was there was mind-blowing. I almost forgot to shoot one day!"
Ruth notes the chemistry between the artists, stating, "they just gel. The sparks fly between them... the funny comments and also the patience they have for each other on the takes".
Having had an interest in photography since she was a child, Ruth has found that lockdown has allowed her the opportunity to immerse herself in still photography and videography. You can check out some of the beautiful photos taken by Ruth HERE or find out more about Ruth's work HERE.
Dates for the Diary
Thursday 8th April at 8pm, featuring Ger O'Donnell and Maria Ryan.
Thursday 22nd April at 8pm, featuring Dermot Sheedy, Aisling Lyons and Sean Lyons.
Thursday 6th May at 8pm, featuring Dermot Byrne and Steve Cooney.
Each performance will be available to view online for 72 hours after the performance becomes available.
