The Aran Islands man opens his tour in Castlebar next Monday night, 16th March
Aran Islands folk singer and songwriter Padraig Jack releases Streetbed Ridden on Friday, the first single to be taken from his forthcoming album, Making Sand.
Streetbed Ridden touches on the subject of homelessness, a topical issue in today’s Ireland. The song has a driving pop melody with powerful lyrics, exploring how it is that someone can slip so easily into homelessness in our modern society.
Padraig developed a music video for Streetbed Ridden, in a computer game representation of the song where a stickman character moves up and down the social ladder.
Padraig explains: “While imagining the mental anguish that must be felt by someone living on the street, this song also ponders how easy it can be to fall through the cracks from a comfortable middle-class life into homelessness. The section at the end of the song asks that we interrupt our non-stop lives and remember the inherent kindness in our being and rethink our willingness to support those at the bottom of the ladder.”
Padraig Jack is from a musical family on Galway’s Aran Islands. His dad is bilingual songwriter Barry Ronan and he is the nephew of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley.
Like his father, Padraig is proudly bilingual and writes music in both Irish and English. With influences ranging from James Taylor and The Eagles to Van Morrison and Shane McGowan, he admires strong songwriting with a distinct point of view. He has appeared on RTE 1, TG4, RTE Radio 1 and Newstalk, as well as many Irish and BBC regional radio stations, and his Irish language songs are played almost daily on Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Career highlights to date include multiple tours with Sharon Shannon playing venues such as Whelan’s, the Liverpool Philharmonic Theatre, Poole Lighthouse Theatre and the famous Cecil Sharp House in London.
He has also opened for many legendary Irish acts including The Saw Doctors, Donal Lunny, Mick Flannery, The 4 of Us and John Spillane, and has appeared at numerous festivals such as Electric Picnic.
Padraig takes to the road both in Ireland and Europe this spring and summer, introducing his forthcoming new album Making Sand, which has been produced by John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, Damien Dempsey).
As well as his own headline gigs, Padraig is supporting Damien Dempsey in April in Ireland.
Headline shows:
16 March Bridge St, Castlebar,
14 May Cobblestone, Dublin
16 May Asgard theatre, Arklow
21 May Crane Bar, Galway
April shows supporting Damen Dempsey:
3rd April Bantry, w. Damien Dempsey
4th April Drogheda, w. Damien Dempsey
5th April Ratoath. w. Damien Dempsey
17th April Dunmore East, w. Damien Dempsey
18th April Newbridge w. Damien Dempsey
