Acoustra bring their trad/folk/rock set to Ennis

FOUR-piece Limerick band Acoustra will be performing in Ennis this weekend. The band have been writing and performing original material for 10 years and they will be bringing their own brand of trad/folk/rock to Patrick’s Bar on Saturday.
The band comprises of Dylan ‘Bulitt’ Shine; vocals, bass and acoustic guitar, Liam ‘Major’ McCarty; vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo, Pat ‘Dats’ Wright; vocals and accordion, and Brian ‘Stick’ Bermingham on drums and percussion.
The band have just released EP The Way It Used to Be, which tells of the current hardship we all face at the moment. In keeping with that message, they are giving the EP away free online.
“We wrote The Way It Used To Be, as we’ve seen what the government has done to the country. They spoon fed us and squandered our economy’s cash, so who are we to ask the good music-loving people of Ireland to dig deeper into their pockets at such a trying time. So we thought to opt to give this EP away for free. All we ask is if you download the songs, pass them on, download a tune and pass the link on or follow us at twitter http://twitter.com/Acoustra. We would love to see you all at a gig in the future and we promise to shake the room up and put a smile on your faces,” they say.
The initial impetus for Acoustra came about in 2001 when they came together, “for the craic” and the four-piece have never looked back since. They have a wide repertoire and a vast variety of songs ranging from original and covers, which they are known to play at gigs to rock the boat somewhat but their utter passion resides in original song and tune writing of trad fused with and deep-rooted folk rock.
The band have performed worldwide and will continue in 2011 to fill up their touring schedules around Ireland, the UK and Europe. They will also continue with their charity work with The Irish Society of Azerbaijan when they make their annual visit.
Their previous release was single Aynu (the tiny dancer), which was written in an orphanage in Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan). One of their continuing goals is to raise more money for these children. The Irish Society of Azerbaijan and Acoustra have been recognised by President Mary McAleese for their extraordinary work in the country. The release of Aynu opened a lot of new doors to travel for Acoustra, so it was nearly two years before they were able to complete their debut EP.
The video for The Way It Used to Be can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsQG8uVF69.