Sun 26 Jan – 8:00pm
Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd
BWMF25 is proud to present multi Grammy winner Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius with Dermot Byrne and Seamie O’Dowd – old friends joining forces!
The 15th Annual Ballincollig Winter Music Festival, 21st to 26th January 2025 is proud to present Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius with Seamie O’Dowd and Dermot Byrne with very special guest Macdara ÓFaoláin!
Multi Grammy winner Tim O’Brien has traveled the world for the past 50 years with his own
mix of American folk, bluegrass, blues, and Celtic sounds. Now O’Brien and his wife,
mandolinist and singer Jan Fabricius team up with iconic traditional players Seamie
O’Dowd and Dermot Byrne for Irish dates early in 2025.
O’Brien is a preferred sideman for people like Mark Knopfler and Steve Earl, and his original songs have been covered by Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks. Notable recordings include the Dylan covers of “Red on Blonde”, the Grammy winning folk of “Fiddler’s Green”, and the Appalachian / Irish collaboration “The Crossing”.
In recent years his main performing and songwriting partner is his wife Jan Fabricius who adds her vocals and mandolin to O’Brien’s guitar, fiddle, and vocal. Their sweet vocal blend and co-written songs feature prominently on the recent O’Brien releases “He Walked On” and “Cup of Sugar”. A new recording of songs co-written with veteran songsmith Tom Paxton is currently in production.
Joining the Nashville duo are renowned Irish musicians Dermot Byrne on accordion and
Seamie O’Dowd on guitar, fiddle, bouzouki and vocals. O’Dowd, from Sligo, and Byrne,
from Donegal, grew up in musical families and went on to renown in the trad world in their
collaborations with Dervish (O’Dowd), Altan (Byrne), and a veritable who’s who of the
genre.
In concert, the quartet features selections from O’Brien’s extensive repertoire of
traditional and original music, with regular steps into the spotlight by Byrne, Fabricius and
O’Dowd.
Macdara Ó Faoláin is a young bouzouki player from An Rinn, Co Waterford, renowned for his innovative approach to traditional Irish music. He is currently focused on composing solo bouzouki pieces that seamlessly blend his deep knowledge of harmony with his traditional roots, drawing inspiration from a wide array of genres. As a native Irish speaker, he is also writing new songs in Irish, contributing to both the preservation and evolution of the language through his music.
Macdara performs regularly with collaborators such as Victoria Adiiye and Cormac McCarthy, and frequently accompanies various musicians within the traditional music scene, having developed a distinctive approach to the Irish bouzouki. He is also a member of a trio with Páraic Mac Donnchadha and Pádraic Keane. Their debut album, Beo, a compilation of live recordings from performances across the country, was hailed by the Irish Echo as “one of the best albums of the past few years.”
After years of building an impressive discography as an accompanist, Macdara recently released a solo EP titled Do Shamhlaigh Mé Tír Nua… , which serves as a prelude to his debut album set to be released later this year. Both the EP and the forthcoming album are produced by composer and pianist Cormac McCarthy. Nós praised the EP as “A Beautiful Emotive Journey”. Recently named the Young Musician of the Year by TG4, Macdara is solidifying his place as a significant figure in the world of traditional Irish music.
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