Let’s be honest, life is a bit mental at the minute, isn’t it? Open your phone and it’s wars, politics, rising bills and another reason to despair before you’ve even had your morning coffee.
Thankfully, music still has the ability to pull us out of ourselves for a while.
There’ll be world-class musicianship, plenty of laughs, the odd bit of organised chaos and, if history is anything to go by, at least one moment where you look around thinking, “How in the name of God did we end up here?”
There might be a bit of crowdsurfing too if the below is anything to go by, let us pray for his poor Ma who will have to grin and bare it!
Now the Dublin trad collective are bringing all of that to one of Ireland’s most prestigious stages as they prepare to headline the Main Auditorium at the National Concert Hall on Thursday 24 September as part of Tradition Now.
If you’ve ever been to an Ispíní na hÉireann gig, you’ll know one thing for certain: it’s never just a concert. It’s more like wandering into a session that somehow got wonderfully out of hand.
For most bands, playing the National Concert Hall is a career milestone. For Ispíní na hÉireann, it’s another chance to remind us that traditional music was never supposed to be museum-piece serious. It’s living, breathing, occasionally bonkers and, above all else, meant to be enjoyed.
Fronted by Tomás Mulligan, alongside Patrick “Paahto” Cummins and Declan Gillen, the band have become one of the freshest voices in contemporary Irish traditional music. Their influences stretch from jazz and bluegrass to classical and beyond, but nothing ever feels forced. It just sounds like Ispíní.
One minute they’re playing with jaw-dropping precision, the next they’re winding each other up, throwing in an unexpected turn or having the audience in stitches. Somehow it all hangs together beautifully.
Their latest release, a reimagining of The Rocky Road to Dublin, perfectly captures that spirit. They don’t try to modernise the song for the sake of it. Instead, they remind you why it’s survived for generations in the first place before giving it just enough of an Ispíní twist to make you hear it with fresh ears.
The National Concert Hall show promises plenty more where that came from. Expect special guests, brand-new material, fresh arrangements and, knowing this lot, probably a few moments that weren’t in the rehearsal plan.
If you’ve only listened to the recordings, you’re missing half the fun. Ispíní na hÉireann have built their reputation the old-fashioned way: by getting out in front of audiences and leaving them with sore cheeks from smiling.
So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to switch off the news for a couple of hours and remind yourself why live music matters, this might just be it.
Ispíní na hÉireann perform as part of Tradition Now at the National Concert Hall on Thursday 24 September.
Tickets: €15, €20, €25 & €29.50
Booking: https://www.nch.ie/all-events-listing/tradition-now-ispini-na-heireann-sep26/
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