Country meets Trad in Beautiful Bundoran

Brendan Quinn, the legendary country singer, will be accompanied by two of Ireland's best traditional musicians, accordion master and 2013 Gradam Ceoil champion Dermot Byrne and world-renowned violin player Ciaran Tourish, both former members of Donegal supergroup Altan at a special upcoming concert at the Bundoran Community Centre.

The musical fusion of two of the country's most popular musical genres will take place on Friday September 15 at 8pm in the Rougey Suite, at the Community Centre, which is gaining a growing reputation for the showcasing of new musical talent in south Donegal, as well as reinforcing the resorts long standing historical connection with both musical genres.

This latest fantastic lineup will combine Country, Trad, and Americana to produce a night of great music that will enthral lovers of all genres.

Brendan (pictured above) has been making music for almost fifty years, with hit songs including It's Four in the Morning, Bandy the Rodeo Clown, and Daddy's Little Girl.

Like a great wine, he improves with age, with recent albums 'Tickin' Over' and 'Lockdown' receiving widespread airplay and critical acclaim, according to organiser Marc Geagan of Modal Citizen Records .

Ciaran Tourish hails from Buncrana and is well known to Donegal audiuences.

And although Ciaran started playing the tin whistle at an early age, he soon took up the fiddle under the guidance of local legendary fiddler and teacher, Dinny McLaughlin.

The unique talent that is Ciaran Tourish

In addition to his mastery of the dance music tradition, Ciaran’s quick ear, love of harmony and counterpoint have led to his talent being in demand as a valued collaborator on non-Altan and even non-Irish music projects with a wide range of musicians and singers including Paul Brady, Matt Molloy, Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Máirtín O’Connor, Dolores Keane, Dé Danann and American musicians, Jerry Douglas and Tim O’Brien.

He released his first solo recording “Down the Line” in 2005 featuring guest musicians Arty McGlynn, Paul Brady, Maura O’Connell, Tim O’Brien, Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas among others.

Dermot’s seemingly effortless playing, combined with great subtlety, and a faultless ear, makes him one of the great accordion players of his generation.

He is one of Ireland’s foremost traditional musicians having been awarded the Irish Television station, TG4’s Traditional Musician of the Year  2013. 

Again from Buncrana in the Inishowen peninsula, he played accordion from a young age with his father the inspirational Tomás O’Beirn, (Tommy Byrne) an enthusiastic promoter of the tradition.

Accordion player Dermot Byrne is an all time great 

Dermot has had the good fortune to meet all the greats of Donegal music, including Johnny Doherty, Con Cassidy and Tommy Peoples making a great impact on the young Dermot, who went on to develop a unique style. 

A long-time anchor of Altan, Byrne’s subtlety as an accordion player has always marked him apart. 

In between he has found time to collaborate with Parisian harpist Floriane Blancke with Brendan O’Regan, Brid Harper and Steve Cooney, Dezi Donnelly and Jim Murray.

As well as his mastery of the Donegal style and repertoire, Dermot can turn with ease to other styles and traditions such as French musette, or South American choro music.

Dermot has guested on collaborations with many great musicians including Seamus and Manus McGuire, Sharon Shannon, Frankie Gavin, Pierre Schryer, Tim O’Brien , The Stunning, Salsa Celtica and the late jazz violinist, Stephane Grappelli. His eponymous solo recording, which he has reissued recently, has received great critical acclaim.

Book your online tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/country-meets-trad-with-brendan-quinn-ciaran-tou-tickets-701775378047?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing&utm-campaign=social&utm-medium=discovery&utm-content=attendeeshare