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Sean Keane at Coast Rosslare Strand, Wexford, Ireland (12 January 2019) |
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On a cool winter evening Sean Keane welcomed an appreciative audience to his By the Hearth concert in Rosslare Strand, a small seaside village in southeast Ireland; next stop, Wales.
Sean opened proceedings with a great rendition of "Going Home," Robbie O'Connell's song of the emigrant of recent decades. For the next two hours he held the audience enthralled with his banter, singing, playing and general infectious humour. He introduced us to songs by Townes Van Zandt with a tale of meeting him at the Vancouver Folk Festival many years ago. He reminded us that Townes' family were very much involved in politics, but he reckons that his songs affected more people than "all that politicking." It was in his recounting of collecting songs around the world that we were reminded that this star, like so many of the best, did not arrive fully formed overnight. He had toured as part of groups that were legends in their time such as Reel Union and Arcady. His songs on this night ranged from "Shenandoah" through his own hits like "Galway to Graceland" and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain." He introduced new songs to the audience with tales of touring in such magical places as Floyd in Virginia and all points on the folk music circuit in the USA. He was ably accompanied in the show by Pat Coyne on guitar and Fergus Feely on mandocello. Both performers were given spots to themselves and provided excellent entertainment, with the former performing "Waltzing for Dreamers" and Fergus introducing a wonderful new song collected on tour in America called "Pink." Sean Keane had a hard job leaving the stage with numerous calls for encores, which as a true gent and genuine lover of his craft he found it hard to refuse. by Nicky Rossiter |
