What’s On This Week: The Anam Sessions

Other Voices: The Anam Sessions begins this Thursday, 10 September, at 11pm on RTÉ2 and worldwide on the RTÉ Player.

The first episode takes us to Barryscourt Castle in County Cork, where four acts come together for some special performances and chats, all captured in one of Ireland’s most remarkable historic settings.

Presented bilingually by MayKay and Cóilí Collins, also known as Shampain, The Anam Sessions brings contemporary and traditional Irish music into some of the country’s most significant heritage sites.

Cliffords

After a whirlwind year that included playing Glastonbury and touring international stadiums with the likes of Florence & The Machine and Queens of The Stone Age, Cork band Cliffords return to their home county for a performance at the newly refurbished Barryscourt Castle. Their direct, energetic indie-rock sound has established them as one of the most exciting young bands on the Irish music scene. 

Joshua Burnside

Belfast-based singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside is back with a fourth album ‘It’s Not Going To Be Okay’. Although he never intended to write an album about grief, it was a natural outpouring. Written in the aftermath of his best friend passing away, he inadvertently crafted a whole album that has resonated massively with Irish audiences - its rawness described as something that’s been missing from Irish songwriting. Drawing on folk, electronic and experimental influences, his music is both intimate and expansive, with a sound that feels perfectly suited to the atmospheric surroundings of Barryscourt Castle.

Girl in the Year Above

After a year of musical breakthroughs that included a cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” being used on the new Peaky Blinders film and joining The Kooks on the road, Girl in the Year Above make their television and Other Voices debut in the first episode. The Irish-Cornish group mark their arrival with a beautiful acoustic performance full of energy and atmosphere. 

Mick O’Brien & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh

Mick O’Brien and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh join us in Barryscourt. Two titans of traditional music; uilleann pipes and fiddle fill the historic castle with a sound that is both deeply rooted and entirely their own.

Watch Episode 1 this Thursday, 10 September, at 11pm on RTÉ2 or catch up wherever you are in the world on the RTÉ Player.

Coming up in this series:

• Episode 1: Thursday 10 September: (Barryscourt Castle) Cliffords, Joshua Burnside, Girl in the Year Above & Mick O’Brien and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
• Episode 2: Thursday 17 September: (Emo Court House) Ellie O’Neill, Kean Kavanagh, Sárán Mulligan & Muirine Nic Róibín, SOAK
• Episode 3: Thursday 24 September: (The Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle) Aby Coulibaly, Aoife Ní Bhriain & Cormac McCarthy, Curtisy, Jacob Alon 
• Episode 4: Thursday 1 October: (Áras an Uachtaráin) Aibhse, Cuas, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, Damien Dempsey, Huartan, Pauline Scanlon, Ruth McGinley

‍

The Anam Sessions is produced by Other Voices in partnership with the Office of Public Works.

‍