This Music Network traditional music gathering brings together four musicians whose artistry and accumulated experience situate them among the most respected voices in Irish music: Kevin Burke, Dermot Byrne, Noriana Kennedy, and Jim Murray. Although each is wellknown to audiences in their own right, this collaboration is shaped not by longstanding partnerships but by the creative renewal that comes when artists encounter one another with openness and curiosity. It is, in W.B. Yeats’s words, a moment where “Talent perceives differences; genius, unity” - a meeting point where distinct musical voices find a shared purpose.
The artists speak of this project as something quietly special: relaxed, exploratory, unexpectedly instinctive. While their careers span decades, countries and traditions, this particular partnership has offered a fresh space in which to rediscover the pleasure of tuning into one another’s playing. As Kevin notes with a smile, “It’s all trial and error. Until you actually play something together, you don’t know what’s going to work.” It is precisely this openness that gives the ensemble its responsive and conversational energy.
Kevin Burke is one of the most influential fiddle players of his generation, renowned for his fluid, elegant Sligostyle playing and his remarkable ability to shape a tune with subtlety and lift. From The Bothy Band to Patrick Street and countless collaborations since, he has helped define the sound of modern Irish traditional music while maintaining a deep respect for its roots.
Dermot Byrne is celebrated for his warm, effortless accordion style, shaped by the rich musical heritage of Donegal and honed through years of performing with Altan. His playing is admired for its lyrical sensitivity and rhythmic suppleness, bringing both finesse and emotional depth to every tune.
Noriana Kennedy is a captivating singer and multiinstrumentalist whose repertoire weaves Irish song with influences from American and global folk traditions. Known for her luminous voice and instinctive storytelling, she brings emotional clarity and a strong sense of atmosphere to every performance.
Jim Murray is one of Ireland’s most respected accompanists, widely admired for his inventive, harmonically rich guitar playing and his instinctive responsiveness to melody. His subtle, rhythmically assured style provides both foundation and lift, shaping the ensemble’s sound with elegance and precision.
Although all four musicians had crossed paths before in various ways, they had never played together as a group. Their first rehearsals took place in Boyle, Co. Roscommon, the venue chosen simply because it lay roughly equidistant for everyone travelling, but quickly becoming a place of gentle immersion. Two days there were enough to sketch the contours of a full programme in terms of songs, tunes, ideas, textures and possibilities.
Kevin describes these initial sessions as “throwing a few ideas up in the air,” only to discover a coherence almost immediately. Each musician arrived with material to try: Noriana with a mix of familiar songs and longunperformed pieces, Kevin and Dermot with tunes drawn from years of playing, and Jim with a sense of how the evolving set might find shape. What emerged was not a rigid plan but a shared sensibility.
Noriana recalls feeling some nerves, “wondering how I’d fit in, as the singer”, but these disappeared almost at once. “It was very relaxed and easygoing,” she reflects. “We had time to talk, to hang out, to get to know each other as people.” This human dimension, more than any technical decision, laid the foundation for the ensemble’s sound.
The repertoire selected for this tour reflects an interplay of instinct, personal history and the musicians’ deep regard for one another’s strengths. For Noriana, choosing songs involved imagining what would blend well with the group’s texture. This process led her to revisit songs she had not performed in years, and to include a Filipino piece she had learned but never sung publicly. The group also embraced a Bothy Band song that is particularly meaningful to her, as this band’s recordings were a gateway for her into traditional music during her early years.
Kevin and Dermot’s tune choices draw on decades of immersion in Irish traditional dance music. Reflecting their open approach to these performances, some tunes resurface; something planned may fall away; a newly rediscovered piece may step into the spotlight. Kevin reflects on the unpredictable nature of live performance: what works in the studio “doesn’t always land” on stage, while something unassuming may suddenly light up a room.
Jim’s accompaniment, admired for its delicacy and rhythmic lift, provides the architecture that supports the ensemble’s interplay. His sensitivity to shape and pacing ensures that each piece finds its natural arc.
A distinguishing feature of this ensemble is its commitment to storytelling, not as decoration, but as an essential part of performance. This emphasis reaches back to the very origins of traditional music, where tunes and tales existed side by side, inseparable companions. Sally Sommers Smith writes: “Traditional music embodies the experiences of a group of people, and often encapsulates both their history and their present social conditions. The playing of a tune can recall the memory of a musician who played it or composed it.” (“Traditional Music: Ceol Traidisiúnta: Irish Traditional Music in a Modern World.” New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua 5, no. 2 (2001), p 121). This insight resonates strongly with the musicians’ descriptions. For them, stories are not merely introductions; they are the connective tissue that binds the audience to the music.
Noriana notes that people remember the songs “with the best stories,” the ones given context and warmth. Kevin speaks of the conversations, characters and quirks that surrounded the music in his childhood - how a tune was always tied to a memory, a person, an anecdote, and how he now tries to offer audiences something similar: an image or a thread to hold onto while listening.
This mutual embrace of music and narrative reflects the very heart of a folk tradition: pieces passed on not simply as melodies but as vessels of lived experience.
Both Kevin and Noriana emphasised the importance of projects like this one, initiatives that allow musicians to meet across artistic paths, push beyond familiar patterns and rediscover surprise. For Kevin, the essential question in new collaborations now is not “Are they good musicians?” (that can be assumed at this level) but “What are they like as people?” Personality, he says, is what makes the music breathe.
For Noriana, the opportunity to step outside of her usual ensemble is a chance to stretch: “It pushes you out of your comfort zone… it makes you realise you can do more than you think.” She speaks of the creative momentum that emerges from such projects such as new recordings, new ideas, new confidence.
The support underpinning tours like this by organisations such as Music Network is obviously so important, as it gives artists the time and space required to experiment, and creates the conditions in which genuine artistic growth can occur.
The musicians were very conscious of the fact that, as the tour continues, musical ideas will continue to shift, and that some moments will surprise even the musicians themselves. Personally, I found this to be refreshing and exciting – it’s one of the reasons that these performances are unmissable!
“If we’re still talking by the end of Paris, we’ll be doing well,” Kevin jokes! It is quite clear, however, that beneath this humour lies a deep respect among these four musicians. What unites them is a shared commitment: to honour the tradition, to invite audiences into its emotional and historical depths, and to bring fresh imagination to every performance. This particular artistic grouping invites us into that unfolding conversation, one in which past and present, melody and story, instinct and craft, meet and illuminate one another.