Hectic summer for Síomha

ENNIS musician and singer Síomha Brock will perform at the Doonbeg Jazz festival but it is just one of a number of engagements the 23-year-old is busy with.
She will be playing in Tubridy’s and Madigan’s on Sunday with the group  Jazzology, while her covers group, Araby, are well known from their regular Saturday night slot at Cruises in Ennis. She also fronts the Síomha Brock Band in Cork, where she has been a student for the past year.
Síomha has quite a few balls in the air and she says the different groups play different styles. “For the jazz festival, it’s pure jazz, but with the covers band it’s ’50s and ’60s stuff and I’m also writing my own stuff as well with the band in Cork.”
This summer is set to be quite busy one. “The jazz thing is quite recent, it’s only in the last few months. Araby is the covers band, playing with a Clarecastle drummer called Ronan Daly and The Síomha Brock Band is doing the Independence Music Festival in Mitchelstown in Cork in July. I also have a solo slot at the Body and Soul Festival in Meath in June.”
She is working to get her career going and is also studying Music Management at Coláiste Stiofán Naofa in Cork, something she hopes will teach her about the industry. “It’s to know what are the right things to do and what are the things to look out for.”
Síomha has been interested in a range of styles and says the rise of certain female stars has made things a bit easier for her.
“I started off with folk singing, listening to Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, that kind of thing. Then I had a big interest in jazz, rock and roll and the rockabilly thing. Since the take-off of Imelda May that has boosted what I do, with the rise of female singers like her and Katie Tunstall.”
Her family is steeped in music and have been very helpful to her, she says. “I’m from a musical family. My dad is a traditional musician so it was always in the household and he has a big interest in jazz too. My mother is a singer as well and both of my sisters are very musical as well. It was always around and available and if any guidance was needed it was there,” she added.