Who would ever think those famous opening words from Jimi Hendrix “Welcome to My Church of Blues” would ever come true? Of course we all know that here in Ireland anything is possible and that’s exactly what will be happening at Saint George’s Arts & Heritage Centre in Mitchelstown on Friday July 1st – the debut of Ireland’s newest blues club! The Church Blues club who have adopted Saint George’s as their spiritual home.
Jimi Hendrix won’t be there in person on the night, but there will be moments in time when you will swear that he is there on stage in spirit as you are captivated by Dublin born and bred guitar wizard Gerry Quigley & his band The Mystic Blues band.
The show will be a fundraiser for the Saint George’s restoration project and is hoped the blues club will become a place to meetup with good friends again and again, as the blues club comes back to Saint George’s on the First friday of the month, every two months. Extra shows may also be scheduled throughout the year on demand, when international touring blues artists request to play on other dates. There is already great interest from some great bands.
Siobhan O’Brien
This July 1st the show will commence with special guest the captivating Siobhan O’Brien who is back home in Ireland from writing and touring in the USA.
Dubbed “a voice the world should hear” by Paddy Moloney (The Chieftains), Siobhán O’Brien is writing music for the risk takers of this world. Certainly a woman who made the trek from Ireland to America, with only two suitcases in hand, to be a full-time songwriter knows a thing or two about risk.
It’s a common narrative for songwriters to chronicle their journey towards self-discovery but O’Brien does it in a manner that is so relatable, it’s as if she wrote these songs for you alone. Perhaps it’s the exquisite tension in her voice, the authenticity in her lyrics, or the magnetic presence on stage that garnered a generation of admirers ranging from Bob Dylan to Leonard Cohen but the folk-rock songwriter has only just begun to tell her story.
As a fourth generation Irish musician, music runs in O’Brien’s blood but in 2017, America called to her as the place she wanted to lay down music roots of her own. Within 5 weeks of living in the States she had secured an opening slot at the acclaimed Birchmere Music Hall (for English songwriter, Nick Lowe) and had been awarded a coveted spot in the Folk-DJ Showcase at North East Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) by Mary Cliff ( Renowned Folk Radio DJ for 40 years).
When she began searching for recording studios for her next album, there was only one city that, as a spinning vinyl stuck on repeat, kept calling to her: Austin. It was in the star city that she met her co-producers, John Bush and Matt Hubbard, drummer and keyboardist for Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, and recorded her third album “You Can’t Run Out Of Love”.
Website: https://www.siobhanobrien.com
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMiAjNYdnMQ
Following after Siobhan will be Gerry Quigley & The Mystic Blues band.
Gerry Quigley & The Mystic Blues Band
Dublin born & bred Gerry Quigley returned home to Ireland in 2013 after 30 years in Australia and it’s no surprise he has been making his mark on the Irish (& UK) blues scene. With a blues residency at Cork’s Crane Lane Theatre for several years, Invited to play some of the best festivals, including Monaghan Poc the Blues Festival, the Great British Rock & Blues Festival in the UK and many more.
When Steve Morse from Deep Purple says “Wow that was really cool!” after watching Gerry play some seriously mad sounds on his double-neck mandola/bouzoulki on stage at Burswood Casino in Perth, Western Australia you know Gerry’s music must be really something.
On Friday July 1st, you’ll see Gerry Quigley and his band pumping out their own signature style of spine-tingling blues and blues-rock originals along with blues classics Quigley style.
Best described as blues-inspired progresssive rock with a mystical magical celtic feel, Gerry and his band will at times entrance you and take you away to another world. You’ll hear Gerry play an ecclectic collection of guitars and things with strings including his No.1, Gibson Les Paul to his Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Dobro Slide, 12-string Acoustic, Gibson 135, mandolin and more including some seriously mad sounds from his one of a kind double-neck mandola/bouzouki named Shaun and Sheila!
With powerhouse Frank “Muddy” McNally rocking out on bass/vocals, and Sharon Quigley “Rockin’ Rev” on keys, and Jimmy “Seamus” Howlett (UK) on drums, Gerry Quigley and his band will entertain with a musical soundscape of guitars to remember.
If you love all the blues and progressive rock guitar greats, you will love this show. One thing is for certain, on July 1st at Saint George’s Mitchelstown you’ll be in for a treat!
Website: www.gerryquigleymusic.com
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhGENKEH1G4
Tickets €20 or €15 for members, available online from Eventbrite, or at the door until sold out.
Media Contact:
Sharon Quigley 085 831 3437
For more details see:
http://www.thechurchbluesclub.com
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