Christy for Arts Festival Big Top
By Declan Varley
Galway Arts Festival and the Róisín Dubh have announced that Christy Moore will perform a rare stand-up gig at the Festival Big Top on Friday July 20. Joining Christy on the night will be high energy, vivacious trad group 4 Men and A Dog. The show is Moore’s only gig in Galway city in 2012 and promises to be a massive music highlight at this year’s festival.
Christy Moore is one of Ireland’s most prolific singer songwriters infamous for his iconic songs Lisdoonvarna, Don’t Forget Your Shovel and Ride On. His acclaimed new album Folk Tale, produced by Declan Sinnott sees the latest result of Christy and Declan’s unique musical alliance. Their long collaboration has gained a loyal and ever increasing following. Other players featuring on the album include Gerry O’ Connor, Tim Edey and Neil Martin with The West Ocean String Quartet.
The Kildare singer rates his performance with headliners Coldplay at Oxygen last year as a memorable experience, when hearing the sound of 80,000 young people singing along to Jimmy McCarthy’s classic Ride On. Christy believes that his collaboration began when the 12-year old Coldplay drummer, Will Chamberlain attended one of his gigs in Southampton in 1992.
Moore was recently listed in the book Rough Guide to Bob Dylan for his recording of The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, the Rough Guide’s favourite Bob Dylan listings. Other great works include the film Come All You Dreamers which captures the work Moore loves to do, recorded from Barrowland Ballroom Glasgow, in a raw, atmospheric and very real setting. It has received repeated prime time transmissions from both TG4 and BBC4.
Moore has also performed at The London Feis at Finsbury Park, formerly known as The London Fleadh and the New York Fleadh. The recent prestigious anthology edition of the Penguin Book of Irish Verse includes Christy’s 1983 song Lisdoonvarna. Moore had a successful reunion and collaboration with TV presenter Gay Byrne called One Night Only with Gay Byrne on RTE1. His first appearance on The Late Late Show with Byrne took place in 1972.
Tickets go on sale Monday 14th May at 9am at galwayartsfestival.com and roisindubh.net Tickets €37.50. A limited number of Early Bird tickets will be available at €35.00.
The full Galway Arts Festival 2012 Programme will be announced at the end of May
