Anna Mieke is an Irish musician and songwriter, based in county Wicklow. Her debut album ‘Idle Mind’, described as “a strikingly confident collection of songs, full of blue sky thinking and wide open horizons” by the Irish Times, was released independently in April 2019. Inspiration for her writing stems from a colourful background of experience: learning Maori songs at school in New Zealand, cycling through Europe, living in Granada, learning folk songs in Bulgaria and performing cello in the Cork-based experimental improv group, HEX. Anna Mieke performs with percussionist Matthew Jacobson, Ryan Hargadon on saxophone, synth and Brían Mac Gloinn on fiddle and harmonium. She has shared stages with many other artists, including playing support shows for the likes of Lisa Hannigan, Martin Hayes, This Is The Kit, Lankum, Gyda Valtysdottir (múm) and Rozi Plain. She was nominated for the RTÉ Folk Award ‘Best Emerging Act’ 2019 following her album release. Anna Mieke is also one-third of the singing trio Rufous Nightjar, whose debut album is set for release next year. “A deliciously bearable lightness of being defines Anna Mieke’s debut album. It’s a strikingly confident collection of 10 songs, full of blue sky thinking and wide open horizons… Idle Mind is a slow burner (in the very best sense) that promises many fresh revelations with each return visit. A deliriously renewable energy source” – Siobhan Long, The Irish Times “Indeed, Idle Mind is not just a stunning debut record, nor is it just an amazing Irish record: it’s a record that proves Mieke to be one of the most promising artists on the Irish independent sphere and mature musician and songwriter whose work deserves to be heard far and wide” – The Thin Air

Wyvern Lingo are a trio from Ireland. Their Choice Prize-nominated debut album, ‘Wyvern Lingo‘ (2018), established them as one of the most distinctive Irish acts of their time. Known for their soulful vocals and harmonies, they blend the pop, RnB and classic rock influences that have inspired them since they formed as young teenagers. They quickly developed a reputation in Ireland for their musicianship and dynamic live shows.    After two years of touring Europe- playing slots at major festivals and opening for the likes of Grace Jones, Hozier, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra– Wyvern Lingo relocated to Berlin to record their second album. ‘Awake You Lie’ was released in February 2021 to critical acclaim in both Ireland and Germany, and was chosen as record of the week by Germany’s SWR2 and BR2, among others. Described by the Irish Times as “a beacon for all of us feeling lost at sea” in its 4* review, Awake You Lie is the band’s most ambitious work to date.    This year’s recipients of the Sounding the Feminists/National Concert Hall Music Project Award, the band just released a unique livestream show in collaboration with visual artist 1iing heaney, and are spending the rest of the summer in Germany for their first taste of live shows since before the pandemic. 

The Scratch!   Live at Connolly’s of Leap   Tickets on sale now!   €20 + booking

We’re excited to announce that Dani Larkin will be performing at Connolly’s on December 4th 2021.⁠ ⁠ We’re honestly filled with excitement with the promise of live gigs again and we cant wait to have the venue filled again with music.⁠ ⁠ Dani Larkin is a singer-songwriter and folk musician who is already being heralded as one of Ireland’s finest songwriters. Larkin has been creating music for⁠ several years, and is a well known face on the live circuit in Ireland.⁠ ⁠ In 2019 she was artist-in-residence at Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and has performed at⁠ Ireland Music Week, Other Voices (Ballina and Belfast), Output and Sound of Belfast. On the live circuit she has supported Rufus Wainwright, Joshua Burnside and Lisa O’Neill whose “honest, truthful storytelling style” she greatly admires. Following in the footsteps of these artists, she is a must-listen for those interested in contemporary folk music.⁠

Brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn grew up playing music together around their hometown of Carlow, a small town in the southeast of Ireland. After moving to Dublin in 2012, they quickly became a staple of the live music and session scene in Ireland, playing their own original songs as well as folk songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and America. In 2014 they came to the attention of Arbutus Yarns’ music filmmaker Myles O’Reilly, whose videos gained international attention for the brothers for the first time. After a chance meeting at Electric Picnic in September 2015, the brothers performed onstage with Glen Hansard, who invited them to open for him on his European tour the following October. Their debut EP Rose & Briar was released on October 7th 2015. Since then, they have been busy touring Ireland, the UK and Europe, opening for acts such as Villagers, Roy Harper and LisaHannigan (whose band they played in for her Irish tour, June 2016). They have played sold out headline shows in Ireland, France,Switzerland and the UK. They have made numerous television and live radio appearances in Ireland, and were also part of ‘Imagining Home’, a live broadcast concert in the National Concert Hall of Ireland, 2016, curated by Glen Hansard, Philip King and Gary Sheehan. In October 2017 they launched their debut, self-titled album to great acclaim. “Ye Vagabonds” comprises of harmony rich folk music, influenced by Irish traditional music, Appalachian singing, and the 1960’s folk revival. It includes ten mellow tracks weaved with thoughtful lyrics, thickly layered with strings and droning harmonium. Their second album ‘The Hare’s Lament’ was released on 22nd March 2019 to huge critical acclaim. In 2019 they won the BBC Radio Two Folk Award for Best Traditional Track, and they swept the boards at the RTÉ…

Kynsy, the solo project of the 23 year-old Irish multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Ciara Lindsey, today shares a brand new single and video, “Mr Nice Guy”. The song is co-produced by Kynsy and James Dring (Gorillaz / Jamie T / Sorry) and sees Kynsy bring a swaggering, synth-drenched atmosphere to the detached nonchalance of her lyrics. The accompanying video was directed by Dave Fox and Conor Donoghue. Kynsy’s louche, almost rakish delivery is half world-weary lounge singer, half astute soothsayer. Moving from the metallic lurch of a nightclubbing Iggy Pop to the icy cool of St. Vincent and the futurism of Julian Casablancas, Kynsy has constructed her own world, one with a playful juxtaposition between the warmth of pitch perfect pop melodies and the stinging realism of her lyrics.