Barry McCormack
Barry McCormack, Dublin folk singer-songwriter, plays Whelans on the 29th of October.
Barry McCormack is a rare breed of songwriter, a man who takes his marker from The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. He writes the kind of slow ballads and loud drinking songs you should hear in a smoky Dublin pub at closing time. Barry McCormack came to prominence in the Dublin music scene in the mid 90s with his group the Jubilee Allstars. Barry formed the group with his brothers Fergus and Niall and the band were quickly signed up by new Dublin label Lakota. The band recorded a debut album with Lakota Sunday Miscellany. But it was to be the band's second album The Lights of the City where Barry was to develop his song writing style with songs such as "Lights of the City", "Pray Loud" and "Lost At Sea". After The Lights of the City was released, Barry decided to leave the band and concentrate on a solo career.
Barry recorded We Drank Our Tears with his brother Niall and wanted to keep his vision of folk music simple, just a guitar and a solitary voice. Barry felt that any other musical colouring would have got in the way of what the songs had to say. The album subsequently has a sparse and soulful purity to it. With "On The Evening Of The Epiphany" Barry weaves us in and out of the many back streets and side alleys of Dublin his narratives often stumble along. While songs such as a "A Husband's Prayer", "Don't Be Afraid Anymore" and "The Place Where Fortune Hides" deal with serious issues of loss and bereavement there is ultimately an uplifting feeling to these songs.
Photograph by Adrian Crowley.
Time : 8.30pm.
Adm : €8
