John Shand Posts
March 6, 2014 / Concert Reviews - Archive

The Necks

Joan Sutherland Theatre, March 3 Playing in the Concert Hall as guests of Brian Eno was one thing. Playing in the Joan Sutherland Theatre under their own name was a clearer indication of the growing hometown respect for the Necks, after 27 years of hearing them in smaller rooms. Although…

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March 5, 2014 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Altan and Lunasa

The Factory Theatre, March 2 This double shot of Irish music provided living, breathing proof of the idiom’s breadth and malleability. Lunasa showed how feisty and energetic it may be, before Altan dug deep into the tradition – particularly that of Donegal and the north – with a sound defined…

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March 1, 2014 / Features - Archive

The Bassman Cometh – Lunasa’s Trevor Hutchinson

Lunasa may usually be counted among the hottest acts in Irish traditional music, but not when I speak with the band’s bassist, Trevor Hutchinson. In fact he is in danger of catching frostbite, being mid-tour in Alaska. “I think it’s minus 30 Fahrenheit,” he shivers into the telephone. “I went…

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