SJ McArdle

It’s been quite a summer for Kern – we performed at the gala opening Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann regional showcase concert in our home county of Louth along with Ulaid and Gerry O’Connor, then performed on national television via Fleadh TV (see clip below).

Then it was off to Milwaukee Irish Fest, the USA’s largest celebration of Irish and Celtic music and culture to perform three shows across the weekend.

We’re closer to home on September 14th with an upstairs headline show in The Spirit Store.

Please check the Live Page for new Kern shows, including a return to legendary Dublin venue The Cobblestone on Friday August 10th.

There’s been a bit of a new lease of life for “Till The Docklands Drown” lately.

Earlier this week actress and musician Tara Lee, who performed the song in the award-winning movie A Date for Mad Mary, released her own full version of the song, which is really lovely. The band on the recording were Clive Barnes on pedal steel, Neil Conlan (who also engineered) on bass and SJ on acoustic guitar.

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/taraleemusic/til-the-docklands-drown-cover-tara-lee

Also this week, Irish website Joe.ie made Kern’s own version of “Docklands” their song of day and promoted it with a lovely post. Check it out here: https://www.joe.ie/music/joes-song-day-573-kern-till-docklands-drown-619199

There’s life in the old dog yet!

Thrilled to say that we are off to Milwaukee Irish Fest this year after winning the TradFest Temple Bar Live at the Hub showcase.

All the acts showcasing were fantastic, so we were delighted and honoured to be selected.

Kern’s performance, along with the other bands in the showcase, was recorded by RTÉ Radio 1 and was broadcast on Niall Toner’s Roots Freeway on February 3rd. It is available to stream from the RTÉ web site here.

L-R in photo: Aidan Butler (RTÉ), SJ (guitar/vocals), Niall Toner (RTÉ), Brendan McCreanor (uilleann pipes), Barry Kieran (fiddle), Kieran Hanrahan (TradFest Artistic Director), Barry Stapleton (Milwaukee Irish Fest)

Lovely chatting to Ray at the Irish Songwriters Podcast last week. It’s a really original format and beautifully woven together story which will feature 49 Irish songwriters during its overall run. It’s a must-subscribe for anyone interested in Irish music.

You can listen here for a special Mini episode on me …

https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/ispod-mini-sj-mcardle/id1316004045?i=1000395390237&mt=2

New Kern dates for November have been added to the live page, beginning with a return visit to Dublin’s legendary Cobblestone venue on Thursday November 2nd. Please note that this date replaces the previously advertised October one. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/339826946476002/

November also sees a return to Drogheda Trad Weekend, with a very special concert at the Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre. The weekend looks really special this year – check out the listings at http://www.droichead.com/show/873582161

Kern are on tour in Ireland this Autumn. Details are on the live page and will be updated as more dates come in.

Come join us! We’d love to see you somewhere along the road.

SJ x

Ladies and gentlemen, we are very proud to present the brand new Kern single, “Till The Docklands Drown”.

Produced by Donal O’Connor and with a lovely video by Brian Connolly at Bang Bang Visual, this is Kern’s first new music since the album last year. The song is also performed by Tara Lee in Darren and Colin Thornton’s IFTA-Winning Element Pictures movie A Date For Mad Mary.

Available on all the usual download platforms including iTunes. Please share if you like it!

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.