There are singers who perform history, and there are singers who make history feel alive. Rhiannon Giddens does both.
Giddens opened the stage with Justin Robinson on vocal and Fiddle and “Cindy Gal”, immediately setting the tone with Appalachian folk before moving into “Georgie Buck.” Then the full band gradually gathered around “Hope Is the Thing With Feathers”, with beautiful fingerstyle guitar intertwined with accordion, double bass and percussion. It was a wonderfully restrained beginning to a night that would gather momentum as it went.
There was something almost old-fashioned about the atmosphere in Vicar Street. The audience was utterly attentive, no chatter, no restless background noise, creating the feeling of a great Nashville listening room. It was exactly the kind of space Giddens’ music deserves.
It was also a thrill to hear the title song from the new album performed to what was clearly a very loyal Dublin audience. There was a wonderful sense of connection between the stage and the room, as if this was an audience already familiar with Giddens’ musical journey and eager to follow wherever she took them next.
After a brief chat with the audience came “Pipi Danga”, its dark undertones giving way to a hypnotic rhythm. The song provided the perfect launchpad for a fantastic guitar solo from Congolese-born, Cork-based guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, whose playing brought an entirely different musical colour to the evening , I have to mention the Tommy Emmanuel style harmonics towards the end of another song later in the night also, Risky but worked perfectly ! , As the song developed, it gradually transformed towards trad, much to the delight of the Vicar Street crowd.
And that fusion, Appalachian folk, African influences, blues, gospel and Irish traditional music, is where Giddens is at her most compelling. Nothing feels bolted on. The different musical languages seem to recognise each other.
There were no fancy videos or graphics, no elaborate visual production and no distractions. Just a plain backdrop, a magnificent band and the songs. It was a welcome reminder that when the music is this good, you don’t need anything else.
The musicianship throughout was exceptional, but Giddens also knows how to puncture the seriousness with humour. Following some feverish banjo playing, she turned to the band and asked, “Anyone want to throw Mama a towel?” It was one of those spontaneous moments that brought the room even closer to the stage.
Songs such as “At the Purchaser’s Option,” “We Could Fly” and “Freight Train” demonstrated the extraordinary range of Giddens’ repertoire, music capable of carrying history, pain, hope and sheer joy without ever losing its humanity.
And that was perhaps the defining quality of the night. Giddens doesn’t simply present old songs or historical stories; she gives them a pulse. She makes the past feel present, conjuring up the ancestors through songs that have travelled across generations, allowing their voices, their struggles, their joy, their stories, to resonate once again in the room. It is one of her great gifts: making history feel not distant or dusty, but alive, breathing and very much with us.
By the end, Vicar Street had become something more than a concert venue. It was a listening room, a gathering place and, for a couple of hours, a crossroads where Appalachian, African, Irish and American musical traditions could meet. Rhiannon jested at one point in the night , we’re going back to North Carolina now , back to the porch, but we really never left , for anyone that has seen Bristol porch fest in new England for example this creates a wonderful image and transports one back in time.
No screens. No spectacle. Just extraordinary musicians, extraordinary songs and Rhiannon Giddens’ extraordinary voice. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Áine Tyrrell arrived at Vicar Street with the kind of presence that makes the word “support” feel slightly inadequate. Opening for Rhiannon Giddens, she brought a fierce, deeply rooted blend of Irish tradition, spoken word and contemporary folk, with songs including “Singing Our Way Home”,with audience joining in unision “People Like Me and You” and the incendiary “BITSEACH”.
The latter was a particular highlight, an anthem for “difficult, disobedient, ungovernable women”, inspired in part by Sinéad O’Connor, whose “MISE ÉIRE” response to Tyrrell’s writing helped spark the song.
The energy to Tyrrell’s music, comes from old stories and ancestral sounds pulled firmly into the present. Her voice moves from tenderness to full-throated intensity, while the songs carry a strong sense of place and belonging.
The response was warm and immediate with the crowd eager to joining on some songs ,Tyrrell made a large venue feel intimate, drawing the audience into her world rather than simply performing at them. By the time she left the stage, she had made a convincing case for a to return and perform more than 30 mins of her craft
Also as a musician myself I will be investigating the Peterman Electric Egg stomp boxes that Aine was using on her boots also very cool
Áine Tyrrell Photos:
Rhiannon Giddens photos:
Photos & words – Wayne Polley @hawkeye_polley_photography