Musical start to the month of May

THE month of May will get off to a sweet start in Ennis next Monday (May 2), as Mike Hanrahan and five choirs take to the steps of the Courthouse.
At 3pm, the Stockton’s Wing legend will sing alongside Cantare, The Really Truly Joyful Gospel Choir, Ballyea choir, Front Line Choir and a new choir, Inis Soul. The event, entitled Bealtaine Voices with Mike Hanrahan is part of a month-long celebration of creativity in older age, and is supported by Clare County Council and Creative Ireland.
Songs will include ‘Dreams’, ‘On Days Like These’, ‘May the Road Rise to Meet You’, ‘Clare My Heart My Home’, ‘Celebrate’ and Stocktons Wing classic ‘Beautiful Affair’.
More details are available on Bealtaine.ie.
Meanwhile, Mike has teamed up with Gavin Glass for to release ‘Spindrift’ – the second song from a series of works created during the past two years called Songs from The Box Room, which will be released in the autumn.
With this, Mike, who has spent most of his career with Irish music legends Stockton’s Wing, will release this third album. “I had not written for quite a few years, but that timeout gifted me the opportunity to write,” he said. “I had the luxury of time and patience to craft the songs and bring them to the studio. It has been a very productive period of my life. Working with Gavin Glass is as good as working with a brother. We see the same picture in a song, we respect the process and crucially, we trust each other in the studio. It is a wonderfully creative and rewarding experience We had super vocal help from the wonderfully talented Rachel Grace. “
Mike currently tours with Stockton’s Wing with solo shows also planned to promote Songs from the Box Room later this year. In January Mike released a critically acclaimed short film The Ballad of The Crimson Warrior, inspired by the Irish Cultural revolution.