Clare Sands
Friday 27 May - 8pm
St Caimin’s, Church of Ireland, Mountshannon
€15/ €13 with wristband
And Official Opening of Mountshannon Arts Festival
with Cli Donnellan
Clare Sands
Channeling the music of her ancestors through her deep rooted Irish traditional fiddling & bilingualsong, Clare Sands is a unique force in Irish music. A sixth generation fearless feisty fiddler, thesinger-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist is breaking the boundaries of Irish Music. She makespulsating Folk music, infused with a myriad of influences from around the world to create aninvigorating new sound, for the young and the old, brave and the bold.'An empowering, exceptional talent, channeling themusic of her ancestors while reimagining thesound of a new Ireland'(BBC Radio)Sands has been wowing audiences around Ireland andfurther afield with her groundbreaking style, passionate performance, and infinite warrior-likeenergy. Her electrifying live performances ofFearless Folksee Clare on fiddle, guitar, percussion& vocals combined with live electronics to create expansive soundscapes weaving story and song.Her performances possess 'a brilliant energy that’s both irresistible and refreshing asshe traversesa path where Irish and English languages, Traditional, Folk, and Contemporary music meet'-FolkRadio UK.As well as performing solo, Clare has also performed with critically acclaimed artists such as theHothouse Flowers, The Stunning, Daithí, Mick Flannery, Susan O'Neill, Manchán Magan, NiamhRegan & many more. This 'force of natures' time has truly come....
Throughout 2021, Clare has been collaborating with some of Ireland’s finest Folk and Traditional musicians to compose four new songs over the four seasons, inspired by the landscapes andsoundscapes of the four provinces. These compositions with Steve Cooney & Tommy Sands, SusanO’Neil, Brídín and Liam Ó Maonlaí will feature on Clare’s highly anticipated self-titled debut albumof pulsating Folk, due for release in 2022. Described by Mark Radcliffe on BBC Radio 2 as‘Ritualistic, Hypnotic, Tribal...deeply earthy’ and ‘full of life’ they are a glance into the invigoratingnew Irish sound to come.
‘AN EMPOWERING, EXCEPTIONAL TALENT, CHANNELING THE MUSIC OF HER ANCESTORSTO CREATE THE SOUND OF A NEW IRELAND’LYNETTE FAYE, BBC RADIO ULSTER
‘CLARE CREATES BRAVE MUSIC THAT TAPS DEEP INTO THE WELL OF WHAT WE ARE ABOUT, OFTRADITIONAL MUSIC, AND BRINGS IT RIGHT TO THE PRESENT DAY. A PHENOMENAL MUSICIAN’FIACHNA Ó BRAONÁIN, RTÉ RADIO 1
‘AN IMPASSIONED VOICE AND MUSICAL GENIUS ON STAGE. A UNIQUE FORCE IN IRISHMUSIC’HOTPRESS MAGAZINE
Mountshannon Arts Festival 2022 will be opened by amazingly talented:
Cli Donnellan
Cli Donnellan, a native of Mountshannon, Co. Clare is an Irish traditional fiddle player, facilitator, and curator at Turas House & An Stábla. Cli holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy (through music) and is passionate about working with the ever evolving journey of the creative 'self'. She has been working within the Arts Sector for over fifteen years and she currently runs workshops related to music and wellness from her property in East Clare.
Thanks to the support of the Arts Council of Ireland, Cli has been composing new music over the past twelve months that sees her engaged in a number of new creative compositional projects. She continues to promote and produce music events in East Clare through various funding opportunities presented by Clare County Council and in collaboration with Mountshannon Arts Festival. Cli is currently on the peer panel of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Cli produced and released her debut album "Beneath the Hedgerow" in 2020. She founded and co-ordinated the Mountshannon Trad Festival for ten years (2010-2019) and produced and presented The Morning Dew - a weekly live traditional music radio show for Scariff Bay Community Radio 2019-2021.
