ENNIS bilingual poet, songwriter and recording artist Amanda Shannon is taking her music duo Phoenix and Wolfe to West Clare perform this Saturday at 7.30 pm in Banner Books, Kilrush.
Amanda explains it has been part of her mission to bring the show out of Ennis to other communities that don’t always get access to new music.
She had a successful mini tour around Ireland last summer going as far as Belfast, but says she know wants to set her roots down firmly in Clare.
Last September she brought her Culture Night show to Barefield and now as we lean into Summer Solstice she is collaborating with Lily De Silva of Silver wood events on one of their Cosy Concerts.
The series of Cosy Concerts is a regular occurrence and the page has an events page on Facebook and Eventbrite.
Phoenix and Wolfe duo are a musical fusion of Irish and Brazilian mystique, wonder and charm. Amanda is a native of Ennis and Cairo Rocha hails from Anapolis, Goias, in Brazil. The duo has been cultivating their unique style since 2020. They are influenced by the likes of Sinead O Connor, Clannad, Mark Knopfler, Kiko Loreiro, Garry Moore, Nina Simone and The Breath. They are currently recording their second single as gaeilge which is supported the The Clare Arts Office.
Amanda and Cairo believe in creating music that is both explorative and evocative.
They care about connecting with each other and bringing to bear the best of both their countries. Cairo was trained by a protégé of Gamela who is a renowned composer and arranger in Brazil.
He plays both electric and acoustic guitar with delicacy and strength using fingerstyle guitar and jazz influences, or mimicking the drone of seannós.
Amanda was surrounded by music growing up, her dad being a drummer in the tail of the Showband era, and she was also a student of her local Gaelscoil. Her love of the Irish language and the seannós tradition was nurtured carefully.
The songwriters come to you bringing their love of their own culture and of each other’s, marrying their own cultural footprints of seannós and Brazilian MPB, Brazilian Popular music, and Latin jazz. They will be preforming their own music on the night with a few seannós and Brazilian MPB numbers.
It is a priority for Amanda to bring the Irish language to new audiences, including the Brazilian community here in Ireland, but also to those who just miss having access to it especially through song.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite with tiered pricing available to make the show accessible to all. Tickets will also be available on the door.
“The aim of our show is to touch people, we concern ourselves with being sincere and connected on stage,” they said.
“We love singing in each other’s native tongue, cultivating the respect of our ancestors, our roots, our histories. We share our hearts in a bath of music tuned to a healing frequency and we just let go.
“We have found that by making a show that we love with every fibre of our being it gives more to the audience. We think the use of Irish and Portuguese also brings more to the show, and we are really excited to share our original songs and some Jazz, and seannós greats.”
Silverwood Events is a community arts and education business, based in Kilrush.
They are hosting this event on a voluntary basis. This means that 100% of your ticket fees are used to cover expenses and to pay the performers. For more see eventbrite.ie.
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.