This article is from page 21 of the 2012-02-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
AFTER her star turn on RTÉ radio, singer Siomha Brock is looking forward to a triumphant homecoming concert in Ennis on Saturday.
The 24-year-old embarks on a nationwide tour this week with stops in Galway (Kings Head, Thursday), Cruises Bar, Ennis (Saturday), Limerick (Office Bar, February 21), Cork (Crane Lane, February 24) and Dublin (Sweeneys, Dame Street, February 26).
The former Coláiste Muire student, who has been tipped as one of Ireland’s rising music talents, released her self-titled EP in Ennis last December. Reaction has been positive, with one track ‘Right From The Start’ being added to the RTÉ Radio One playlist.
Siomha and her band also appeared on Pat Kenny’s popular morning show with the veteran broadcaster hailing their performance.
She says, “He really liked it. He’s into that jazz style of music so he seemed really happy with it. He was very nice and we were really well looked after. It was great to go up and play in such a great studio. It was really a good boost. I sent up the CD and, because they liked it so much and because I had the tour coming up, they said they’d bring us on to do a bit of promotion.”
Joining her on tour are Ennis man Eoghan Judge (guitar), who has been writing songs with Siomha for the past year. Bass player Karl Clews has worked with artists such as Jamiro quai, Gary Barlow (Take That) and PJ Harvey. Drummer Pat Corless has worked with artists such as Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club and The Blizzards.
Siomha says, “We’ve a good few new songs for the tour. We’ve just over an hour of new stuff. Eoghan and myself work really well together because we’ve known each other for so long and because we’ve very similar taste in music.” She adds, “The guys are great. They know exactly what we want to do with the song.”
Siomha, who has performed regularly in Cruises and around Ireland, is hugely influenced by jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday, She says, “I stick to a lot of the old jazz stuff because that’s the way I like to sing. I got all my influences from them.”