What’s behind the recent surge in trad music’s popularity?
Walk into pubs the length and breadth of Ireland and there’s a decent chance you’ll be able to sit down, glass in hand, while a trad session takes place.
Certainly, trad music is having a moment.
Speaking to Sarah Madden for Newstalk Breakfast, journalist Zara Hedderman said has “never gone away as such”.
“Definitely, I think in the last decade or so, there has been an increase in popularity,” she èxplained.
“2019 seemed to have been quite a crucial time, you had Lankum coming out then.
“Rough Trade, a record label, brings out a special imprint called River Lea Records - specifically to focus on folk traditional music.
“So, you have Lisa O’Neill, Ye Vagabonds, John Francis Flynn.”
A trad session in Galway. Picture by: Alamy.com. 2022 was another seminal year for trad music, with several big names hitting the scene for the first time.
“You have the Kingfishr and Amble strand; they’re using all the traditional elements but kind of modernising the music by mentioning Red Hot Chili Peppers or online culture,” Ms Hedderman continued.
“Kingfishr have the song about the GAA club and the sense of community and belonging there.”
And it’s not just Irish people who enjoy a good seisúin.
“We have a lot of tourists coming to sessions,” Ms Hedderman said.
“So, obviously, industries, labels, promoters are seeing this.
“So, they’re saying, ‘Let’s bring them to huge stages. Let’s put them on the 3Arena.’
“There’s a huge demand for it.”
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo. One of the many beneficiaries of this new surge in popularity for trad is Dundalk musician David Keenan.
“We’re having a Gaelic revival - Yeats, Lady Gregory,” he asserted.
“I think we’re in that again.”
For him the reason for trad’s popularity is simple: it is a very precious link to Ireland’s ancient culture and history.
“I think over the last 10, 15 years, a lot of cultures have become very homogenised," he said.
“It’s important that we celebrate our similarities as people, but also what also makes us unique and stand apart.
“The Irish language revival is happening at the minute, you can see that everywhere.
“It’s fresh again - a lot of young people are interested in it.”
Main image: A traditional Irish music session in Hennigans Bar, Sligo. Picture by: Alamy.com.
