MINOGUE’S Bar in Tulla will play host to The Unwanted on April 16.
The trio consists of Cathy Jordan (also lead singer of Dervish), Sligo native Seamie O’Dowd who plays guitar, fiddle and dobro; and Californian Rick Epping, who plays harmonica, concertina and jaw harp.
They brought out their first album last year, Music from the Atlantic Fringe, which mixes influences from both Ireland and America.
According to Cathy, “It would be quite an eclectic sound in terms of instrumentation but I think there is an overall cohesive sound and it’s the product of to-ing and fro-ing across the Atlantic. Rick is from California but he lived in Ireland for years and settled here again about four years ago. All the rest of us are Irish but we would have a foot in Americana too.”
While she says that Dervish has been her first priority over the years, as time goes by, she is less enamoured with travelling and spends more time on The Unwanted. “I’m 21 years with Dervish and it was the first band I was with. But as the years go by, we like being away less and not going leaves me with gaps to fill, so I can give time to The Unwanted and the other things.”
Whereas Dervish is almost solely associated with traditional music, she enjoys what the Unwanted offer. “It bridges a divide, some of songs would have an Irish sound and some American. Really, I suppose it’s like if a couple have kids and some of them look like the mother and some like the father but they take features from both. I think there is a oneness in the music and it has its own distinct sound.”
Their album won a number of warm reviews with The Irish Times having high praise for it.
“Many ties bind our own musical traditions to those of Appalachia and points west. The Unwanted is a beautifully loose-limbed celebration of those cross fertilisations, with an inquisitive ear cocked towards the future too.”
Irish Music Magazine was also full of praise. “Every so often a piece of work comes along that just blows ya away and like a real good book or movie, this masterpiece has you submerged in a journey of cowboys, drovers and music that’s so real you can taste and smell it.”
The gig at Minogue’s will get underway at 9pm and tickets can be booked by calling 086 8599957.