A night to remember in Geneva

I had the wonderful experience of doing a concert for GLAS, the Geneva Literary Aid Society last week. There were more than 100 people in what was certainly an engaged and appreciative audience. The setlist was quite similar to the Songs from the Bright Side show I did in Greystones last October, although I did…Continue readingA night to remember in Geneva

We won… finally!

I entered A Perfect Christmas, the song I wrote with my friend David Graham, into this year’s Christmas FM song contest. It wasn’t the first time we had entered but – 10 years later – I had a feeling it was worth another try. We made it through to the shortlist that went to a…Continue readingWe won… finally!

A Whale of a time

Last month I did a concert at the Whale Theatre in Greystones, the town in Ireland where I grew up. It’s a wonderful, intimate venue where they are doing an amazing job of enriching the cultural life of the town. It was such a special night for me: to sing my songs for an audience…Continue readingA Whale of a time

Back to basics for BuskersÁMorges

I did a fair bit of busking in my teens and early 20s and also did a little just before we left Amsterdam in 2011. I always enjoyed the directness of playing in the street, so I jumped at the chance to play at a new busking festival in Morges last August. The BuskersÁMorges festival…Continue readingBack to basics for BuskersÁMorges

Moi Aussi – spreading a musical message of inclusion

I’ve written previously about Moi Aussi, a song that I wrote for the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition in 2017 and that went on to be used for a World Down Syndrome Day event in Bern in 2018. This week, a professional recording of the song has been released, accompanied by a promotional video…Continue readingMoi Aussi – spreading a musical message of inclusion

The COVID-19 Basement Sessions and a new momentum for my adventures in music

The week after Switzerland imposed widespread restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 I had been scheduled to sing at Mulligan’s pub in Geneva to mark St. Patrick’s Day, on Tuesday 17 March. I knew a few days beforehand that the pub would be closed so I decided to see whether I could do something…Continue readingThe COVID-19 Basement Sessions and a new momentum for my adventures in music

Four new songs

I finished three new songs last month, just in time for the Fête de la musique performances. They’re each quite different from the one another and I’m happy with all three. I sang them in Nyon and Geneva last month and they seemed to go down well, particularly Mixtape and Go In Peace. Sleepwalking is…Continue readingFour new songs

A Fête to remember

The Papas were selected for the Fête de la musique in both Nyon and Geneva this year. We played a 45 minute early evening set in Nyon on Saturday and a full hour on Sunday afternoon next to the cathedral in Geneva. This was our view from the stage in Geneva… Both sets went well,…Continue readingA Fête to remember

A first EP for The Papas

Wiser Heads is a collection of four songs recorded at REC Studio in Geneva last February. It’s already available from Bandcamp and SoundCloud and it will become available on just about every digital music platform in the next few days. (Distributing music has become very easy, but it’s still not instant!) It’s released under the…Continue readingA first EP for The Papas

Me and the BatKa at the Fête de la musique

I played in Nyon last Saturday as part of the 2018 Fête de la musique. It was the first performance (of many, hopefully!) for which I was joined by Olivier Gauthey, a super-talented percussionist and drummer based just down the road in Gland. (He also teaches drumming at his studio, Go’n’play.) I sang nine of…Continue readingMe and the BatKa at the Fête de la musique