Féile Live

Having caught attention with their Belfast Féile Trad Trail debut in 2022, the John McSherry Trio’s first album confirms the promise offered by that auspicious gig. There was never much of a risk. A master of the uilleann pipes and founding member of Lúnasa and transatlantic trad-rock band the olllam, McSherry’s choice of partners – fellow virtuoso piper and McPeake family scion Francis McIlduff, and guitarist and vocalist Brendán Quinn – is as good a guarantee of quality as you’re likely to get. Add in Dónal O’Connor guesting on keyboards (and doubling as engineer) and the result is an impeccable calling card for the fledgling outfit. Recorded live in O’Connor’s Redbox Studios in Belfast over 16 hours, Féile Live finds the three in their element. The nine-track set kicks off with ‘The Roaring Promenade’, a joyous concoction of pipes, guitar, bodhrán and gravity-free whistles. Self-penned vocal contributions by Quinn persuasively channel alt-country and folk-rock through folk balladry, ‘Homeless’ conjuring the conducive spirit of Yusuf/Cat Stevens. ‘Liz Rowesome’s’ is a belting set of reels setting pipes against pipes to rousing effect, ‘El Garrotin’ is an infectiously playful and tipsy number and the easy-going ‘Open Road’ deftly frames a new McIlduff tune with two standards. Worth it, too, for the cover of John Fogerty’s ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain?’.