Category: CQAF22 Mon 2

A rescheduled show but it will be worth the wait – Bell X1 live is always a magical experience. The band are constantly evolving and changing things up for themselves and their fans.  Collaborating with Dowry Strings has resulted in an incredible and quite moving live experience.

This long awaited show for CQAF will debut new material along with a lot of the favourites spanning over the last 20 years.

“It’s been a joy to work with Éna and the strings on some more songs from the catalogue, and also some brand new tunes that we’re itching to play live” says Paul.

Bell X1 are Paul Noonan, Dave Geraghty & Dominic Philips.

Dowry Strings specialise in cross-timbral & cross-genre collaborations. The ensemble is run by Éna Brennan (Dowry) and includes musicians Gareth Quinn Redmond, Nozomi Cohen and Yseult Cooper Stockdale.

✮✮✮✮  ‘Another marvelous piece of work from a band that continues to gently, respectfully startle.’  – IRISH TIMES

 Doors 7.45pm | Unreserved Seating

Margo Cilker is a woman who drinks deeply of life, and her debut record Pohorylle, out now on Loose, is brimming with it. For the last seven years, the Eastern Oregon songwriter has split her time between the road and various outposts across the world forging a path that is at once deeply rooted and ever-changing.

As Pohorylle traverses through the geography of Cilker’s memories—a touring musician’s tapestry of dive bars and breathtaking natural beauty—love is apparent, as is its inevitable partner: loss. After all, what bigger heartbreak is there than to be a fervent lover who must always keep moving? Cilker seems keenly aware of the precarious footing upon which love stands, and at many turns, the record circles a fire that is staggeringly beautiful and slipping away.

The record, which carries gentle nods to Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, and Gillian Welch, shines under the instincts of producer Sera Cahoone. Cahoone quickly got to work assembling a first-rate band: Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) on keys, Jason Kardong (Son Volt) on pedal steel, Rebecca Young (Lindsey Fuller, Jesse Sykes) on bass, Mirabai Peart (Joanna Newsom) on strings, Kelly Pratt (Beirut) on horns, and the album’s engineer John Morgan Askew (Neko Case, Laura Gibson) on an array of other instruments.

The record also prominently features effortless harmonies from Sarah Cilker, Margo Cilker’s sister and frequent touring partner.

Over the last six years, Margo Cilker has toured extensively across the US and internationally, and is a staple in the independent festival circuit. She looks forward to returning to the road in full swing in 2022.

Doors 7.45pm | Limited Unreserved Seating

Joep Beving makes minimalist piano music, which he describes as ‘accessible music for complex emotions’.

Beving, a sensation of the contemporary classical streaming world, returns to his solo piano roots with Hermetism, his fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon which will be released globally on 8 April 2022. Inspired by ancient philosophy, Beving’s latest project is an album in search of universal ideas.

Written during the dark days of the pandemic, in an age of fear and polarisation, Hermetism blends poignant melancholy with an offer of hope, spanning twelve new tracks recorded on Beving’s cherished Schimmel piano.

Beving has used music to explore some of life’s big philosophical questions in three hugely successful albums – Solipsism, Prehension and Henosis.

For his latest project, he draws on Hermetism, a spiritual philosophy which stems from ancient writings attributed to the legendary Greek author Hermes Trismegistus.

These concepts – such as the principle of cause and effect and the principle of rhythm – are all about finding a continuous balance in life and existence.

After self-releasing his debut album Solipsism in 2015, Beving became a viral streaming sensation. His music has since been streamed over half a billion times, and he has performed sold-out shows around the globe.

Ultimately, he hopes that Hermetism will resonate on a deep level with his listeners. “In all the madness of recent times, this album has been the thing I’ve kept coming back to,” he explains. “In that sense Hermetism has been my own medicine for the pandemic.”

Since emerging with her debut EP Wolf in 2018, UK artist Katherine Priddy has quickly become one of the most exciting names on the British singer songwriter scene.

Declared ‘The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year’ by Richard Thompson, who later invited her to join him on his UK tour in 2021, Priddy’s haunting vocals and distinctive finger-picking guitar style have seen her sell out a headline tour, support world class artists including The Chieftains, John Smith and Vashti Bunyan and earn spots at prestigious festivals such as Cambridge Folk, Towersey and Beautiful Days.

Her much anticipated debut album, The Eternal Rocks Beneath, was released in June 2021 on Navigator Records to great acclaim. The album singles have received 200+ plays across national radio including BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2, and upon release, the album received a 5 star review in Songlines, a 4 star review in the Observer, reached No. 1 in the Official UK Folk Charts and No. 5 in the Americana charts.

Folk Radio UK made Priddy ‘Artist of the Month’ and said of the debut LP: “Foundations rarely come stronger than this. A debut of true substance, it’s like searching for a simple shelter and stumbling upon a diamond mine.”The album was later chosen as Album of the Week on RTE Radio 1 in Ireland, and made the list of Top 10 2021 Folk Albums in Mojo Magazine as national radio plays continued months after the release.

With exciting plans already lined up for 2022, including an appearance at the Folk Alliance International Showcase in Kansas in February, it seems Priddy’s momentum is showing no signs of slowing anytime soon.

Her live performances are engaging, moving and amusing by turn, delivering original songs with emotional maturity, depth and a tenderness that still carries a darker edge.

5/5 – Songlines

‘Not to be missed.’

‘An accomplished set of original songs delivered in a breathtaking voice’ 4/5 – The Observer

‘Sumptuous songs that define the impressive qualities of this most erudite of songwriters’ 4/5 – RNR

‘Beautiful and poised’ – Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

‘This is so amazing.’ – Guy Garvey, BBC 6 Music

‘KP is pure. Beautiful in every way. Her music gives me that wonderful feeling when you know that something is so special.’ – Janice Long