Attic SpotlightThink of Irish music and
you’ll likely conjure the sounds of mournfully lilting ballads or frantic jigs. Irish music takes on a whole new persona in the hands (and voice) of Gerry O’Beirne, a native Irishman whose remarkable
guitar work and songwriting meshes traditional Celtic strains with contemporary music and poetry.
It’s not that O’Beirne shuns “mainstream” Celtic music. It’s just that he ranges outside the usual
Irish boundaries to places and musical styles he’s encountered in his travels and life. Born in County Clare and reared in West Ireland and in West Africa’s Ghana, O’Beirne is a self-taught six- and
12-string virtuoso guitar player.
O’Beirne’s songs have been covered by Maura O’Connell, Mary Black, and Cathie Ryan and he has toured with Patrick Street, The Sharon Shannon Band, Midnight Well (which
featured his unique slide guitar playing), The Waterboys, Andy M. Stewart, Martin Hayes, Kevin Burke, and Andy Irvine. He has performed at the White House, opened for the Grateful Dead, and played electric
guitar with Marianne Faithfull. He also is a highly sought-after producer and arranger.
His work with modern Celtic performers has been highly praised (one critic said O’Beirne’s song
“Half Moon Bay” on Maura O’Connell’s Stories album is the gem of the collection). However, his own rendition of this song, the title cut of his first and long awaited solo album Half
Moon Bay, is all O’Beirne – a departure from traditional Irish music that still pays homage to those roots.
Half Moon Bay
was chosen as one of the best 12 independent releases of last year by Performing Songwriter
magazine, which featured him in their May 2000 issue. The album was also chosen as one of Folkworld’s top 10 albums of the year. (To listen to full tracks from Half Moon Bay, just follow this link to mp3.com/gerryobeirne)
O’Beirne will be bringing his original brand of Irish music to the South this month. He will be playing at the Unitarian Church in Savannah, Ga., on July 20; at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Ga., on July 21;
and at the Sundilla Concert Series in Auburn, Ala., on July 22.
by Katie Lamar Smith
