SJ McArdle

If you check out the Live page you’ll see that June is a busy month for Kern. 

On Friday 9th we’ll be joining the frankly astinishing lineup at Borris Festival of Writing and Idea (Florence Welch, Mary Robinson, David Simon). Details here. 

Then on the 10th we’ll playing on a tall ship as part of the Stowaway Sessions at Drogheda Maritime Festival. We’ll be sharing the deck that evening with the inestimable Steve Wickham. 

More shows on the live page. Please keep an eye it as we update it regulary. 

News of a new single coming soon!

SJ will be joining Barry Kieran from Kern to perform an acoustic set at Co. Louth’s Cruinniú na Cásca, an event to celebrate the county’s rich cultural heritage. The event runs from 1pm to 5pm on Easter Monday, April 17th. Also on the bill are Dundalk fiddle legend Gerry O’Connor and explosive singer-songwriter David Keenan.

As always, keep an eye on the Live page for gig details.

Kern will perform alongside Drogheda Orchestral Collective and the school choirs of St. Peter’s NS and Drogheda and Dundalk Grammar Schools at a very special concert of music for children in St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda on Friday March 24th.

The event, titled “Fairies, Pirates and Other Tales”, is a fundraiser for St. Peter’s National School PTA.

Tickets are priced at €10 per adult, €5 per child or €25 for a family. Tickets are available on the door on the night or can be booked by calling 086 160 3366.

Doors open at 6:30 and the concert starts at 7:30 sharp. Complimentary wine and soft drinks will be served at the interval.

More dates on the live page!

Happy New Year everyone! The Live page is being updated with new Kern shows for 2017. There are 4 up already, starting with Kern’s return to The Spirit Store, Dundalk next Thursday,  January 19th. Details on http://www.spiritstore.ie

More shows will be added in the coming weeks.

Kern‘s final performance of the year will be as part of Our Lady’s College Greenhills massive Christmas concert in the Church of  St. Augustine in Drogheda.

Kern will perform with the College’s orchestra and choir and with Dónal Lunny. More information is available here.

A beautiful, seasonal end to a great year.

As some of you will have noticed, the lads in Kern have been growing moustaches to raise money for men’s cancer research and awareness charity Movember. They’ve come along quite well, but time is almost up to donate. Here’s the link!

In other news, we are delighted to announce Kern’s new single, a brand new “Winter Mix” of “Short Term Thing” on December 2nd. The original mix of the song is available on Kern’s False Deceiver album, available here.

The single will be launched at Boyle’s Of Slane on Thursday November 8th. Admission is free. The Facebook event page for the gig is here.

Kern are at Newry & Mourne Museum, Bagenal’s Castle, at 7:30pm this coming Friday (September 16th) for a special free Culture Night gig. Please come early, as seats are limited. Details here.

The live show has been getting some nice notices lately. Here’s a lovely review of our Belfast show with Altan a couple of weeks ago in The Thin Air where Ian Patterson talks about our “dashing blend of traditional folk and contemporary songwriting”.

And in an interview with RTE.ie, Darren Thornton, director of new Irish film sensation A Date For Mad Mary called our last Dundalk show “electric” and “visceral” and “One of the best gigs I’ve been to in a long time”. Read the full piece here.

Speaking of “A Date For Mad Mary”, if you see the film you can hear one of SJ’s songs performed by Tara Lee in the character of Jess. It’s a beautiful movie and highly recommended. It’s hilarious and sad and genuinely romantic. Go see it!

There are some new Kern dates up on the Live page, including shows in Belfast (opening for Altan on August 27th), Newry and Dundalk. Check it out!

Meanwhile, here are some shots from our triumphant Spirit Store debut. We’re back on October 20th!

Some lovely reviews in for False Deceiver. Links:

The Irish Echo

Irish Music Magazine

Best of Music and Film

Folkwords

TradConnect

Also, if you’re not on Facebook or Twitter, you may have missed our recent adventures at Drogheda Arts Festival, Willie Clancy Summer School, Vantastival, The Pat Kenny Show, RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta and Highland Radio in Donegal. Here’s a collage.

Two events SJ is involved in at this year’s Drogheda Arts Festival:

Kern will be closing the festival with a performance at 6pm in the Great Hall of Beaulieu House on bank holiday Monday May 2nd.

Tickets are available here – http://droghedaartsfestival.ie/events/traditional-arts/kern/

And for the third year in a row, SJ will also be curating SOLO, a series of intimate, unamplified performances in the chapel of Beaulieu House on the afternoon of the same day. This year’s acts are songwriting legend Mark Geary, Rotterdam’s mesmerising Kalulu and Drogheda’s own Claire Regan. Details here –http://droghedaartsfestival.ie/events/music/solo-at-beaulieu-sounds-beautiful/

Looks like a great day of music!