Hello Folks,
How are you? I’m writing to you from a hotel in Cork. I made the journey down from Belfast yesterday so I could enjoy the sights and sounds of the city and make the first day of tour a gentle one. A little stop off in Armagh on the way meant a new song in the sunshine and a sit on a fallen log over a stream. A great day all round really.
Hamnet
It feels like a little while since I’ve written to you all. I’ve been rehearsing for the tour, swimming as often as possible, enjoying time with friends and family before I join all of you on the road for a month. I also took a good day or two to watch videos of Jessie Buckley and the cast of Hamnet - which I’ve yet to see - do their dance takes. Well worth the time!
I’ve become intrigued by the director, Chloé Zhao, who prioritised dance takes at the end of emotional scenes so that the cast could release any tension or stress they might be carrying in their body. Wow. I’d never heard of an artist in those circles working this way and it opened a few worlds for me. It was a reminder of how important it is to release tension in a touring cycle.
Podcast + County Life
A friend of mine joked that I should train for the Next Of Kin tour by singing the songs from the record while having a puc about. With the sun we’re having I’m certainly not against it! It was loosely based on a conversation I’d had with the wonderful Lynette Fay recently where it was disclosed that I had, once upon a time, played for county. For those reading this newsletter and wondering what all the fuss is about, ‘playing county’ is quite an accolade within the GAA. My chosen sport was camogie, I was the goalkeeper and it lasted all of a few months before songwriting took hold. Although, as my Dad said, ‘You were good enough, you could have went all the way if you wanted.’ which is seemingly the bit that matters.
You can listen to the full conversation with Lynette below. We also chat about Brigid, Westlife and Next Of Kin so we cover a lot of ground really.
Next Of Kin Tour
And now, the tour! This is my biggest headline tour to date across Ireland, England and Scotland. I’m visiting many new places and would appreciate you sharing the touring news with anyone you know. It’s been incredible to see the swell of support for Next Of Kin and this is the first chance I’m getting to sing these songs for you. I won’t lie, it was a challenge to let go of some of the songs from Notes for the live show but it’s definitely time for Next Of Kin to come to the fore.
Come say hi at a show, bring a friend, if you can, bring your Granny because Granny’s are the actual best.
Cork is tonight, West Cork tomorrow, Kilkenny on Sunday and then back up North for my biggest Belfast show on Friday. Derry is on low tickets for Saturday and then we hit the road for Galway, Dublin and Limerick. A little snippet of some experimental rehearsals below.
See you all real soon,
DLx