ENTERTAINMENT: Karan Casey in concert at Kildare's Riverbank Arts Centre

Trailblazing Irish singer-songwriter Karan Casey to perform at Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge on April 15. A leading advocate for gender balance in the Irish folk and traditional music scene, she recently released her new album Nine Apples of Gold and is touring stages across the country.

On her nationwide tour, Casey is accompanied by the dynamic duo Niamh Dunne and Sean Óg Graham both members of popular Irish band Beoga: Niamh Dunne (fiddle, vocals), who comes from a rich family heritage of Irish traditional music; and Seán Óg Graham (guitar), a talented arranger, composer and producer who is in great demand as an accompanist.

Karan says: “The response to the album has been amazing I can’t get over how enthused people are and the reaction at the gigs has been incredible. I’m number 5 now in the Folk Charts in the States and the tour went really well. So I’m very excited to see how the songs and the album go down in Ireland, and I can’t wait to sing the songs for the Irish coming up.”

For her latest record, Karan teamed up with Seán Óg, her long-time collaborator and friend, to create a dynamic and enchanting album of songs that speaks to healing, camaraderie in times of strife, finding enrichment and new life in campaigning for women, and of course death.

This is an ode to the natural world featuring the songbirds of Portglenone, the moon, conversations from the grave, returning to the wild, listening for the cuckoo as she sleeps.

The empowerment of women is front and centre of Karan’s concerns as she gives voice to the notion that songs can sing what we cannot say. Her defiance, her vulnerabilities and her feminist heart bellow through these songs.

Adding their unique vocals to the album are Niamh Dunne, Pauline Scanlon and Ríoghnach Connolly. Also joined by Conor McCreanor, John McCullough, Hannah Hiemstra and Kate Ellis among others, this is Karan’s 12th album. Tickets are available at https://karancasey.com/tourdates.html