Galway trio The Whileaways, Noriana Kennedy, Nicola Joyce and Noelie McDonnell release their new single ‘When You Are Falling’ on 3 September, the title track from their forthcoming fifth studio album, When You Are Falling, which follows on 25 September.
Recorded at Black Mountain Studios in Co. Louth, the new single sees The Whileaways return to the pared-back, intimate sound that has long been at the heart of the band: three distinctive songwriting voices, intricately woven harmonies and an instinct for finding emotional weight in deceptively simple songs.
Written by Noriana, the song grew from an everyday moment at home, “It came while noodling on the guitar putting the kids to bed. Maybe starting as a lullaby, but as the song revealed itself it’s more about finding your own sleep. How the night time harbours the worries of the day – it’s about sharing that load with someone.”
That idea, of carrying one another through uncertain moments ultimately became central not only to the song, but to the album itself. Across twelve new tracks, When You Are Falling explores love, loss, hope, connection and renewal, bringing together the individual songwriting voices of Kennedy, Joyce and McDonnell while retaining the rich, intricately woven harmonies that have become synonymous with The Whileaways.
As the band explains, the title has come to represent something much broader than the lullaby from which it began: “We’re all a bit older now, carrying the weight of different life experiences. We’ve been through the wars a bit and we all know what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under us. But there’s a quiet reassurance in that title and in the music, a collective hope that when everything is in freefall, we will ultimately hold each other up.”
Produced by Alex Borwick, whose credits include Sam Fender, James Vincent McMorrow, Lankum and Martin Hayes, ‘When You Are Falling’ captures The Whileaways at their most understated and evocative. Classic electric guitar and sympathetic production leave space around the song, allowing its natural warmth and emotional depth to come to the fore. Borwick produced the forthcoming album, with veteran US music executive and producer Brian Brinkerhoff joining the project as Executive Producer.
There is a quiet simplicity at the song’s core: the stillness of night, the thoughts and worries that surface when the distractions of the day have disappeared, and the comfort of having someone with whom to share their weight. It is The Whileaways doing what they do best – finding beauty and connection in the seemingly ordinary.
The single offers a further glimpse of an album created with an unusual degree of time and creative freedom. Working with Borwick, the trio fully recorded 22 songs before selecting the twelve that would ultimately form When You Are Falling, allowing them to experiment while retaining the acoustic warmth, intimacy and unmistakable three-part harmonies at the centre of their sound.
Following the release of When You Are Falling, The Whileaways will take the new album on an extensive tour across Ireland and the UK this autumn, opening with a special seven-piece hometown album launch at Galway Town Hall Theatre on 29 September, before dates in Kilkenny, Sligo, Dublin, Cork, Salisbury, London, Birmingham, Toddington, Derry, Belfast and Clonmel.
Since their previous studio album, The Whileaways have also been part of the hugely successful Bird on the Wire, their collaboration with Pauline Scanlon celebrating the songs of Leonard Cohen, which has played a remarkable run of sold-out concerts at venues including 3Olympia Theatre and Vicar Street in Dublin, Ulster Hall in Belfast, Guildhall Derry, Cork Opera House, INEC Killarney and London’s Union Chapel.
Individually, the three have continued to pursue their own musical projects. Noelie McDonnell has been touring as a member of The Saw Doctors; Nicola Joyce has recorded an album with The Half Room, her traditional and folk song project with her brother and Pauline Scanlon; while Noriana Kennedy has been touring in Ireland, London and Paris as part of a traditional music collaboration which included legendary Bothy Band fiddler Kevin Burke.
Together since 2012, The Whileaways have released four critically acclaimed albums and toured prestigious venues and festivals at home and internationally. Their fifth album finds three individual songwriters returning to the band with new experiences and perspectives, but the same instinct for finding the point where three voices become one.
THE WHILEAWAYS – WHEN YOU ARE FALLING ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR 2026
Tue 29 Sept. Town Hall Theatre, Galway. Tickets €28 plus bk. fee
Sat. 10 Oct. An Seantí, Kilkenny. Tickets €25 plus bk. fee
Fri. 23 Oct. Sligo Live, Sligo (with Michael McGovern) Tickets €29 plus bk fee
Mon. 26 Oct The Sugar Club, Dublin. Tickets €24 plus bk. fee
Thurs 29 Oct. Sea Church, Ballycotton, Cork. tickets €25 plus bk fee
Thurs . 12 Nov. Rugby Club, Salisbury. Tickets £17.50
Fri. 13 Nov. ICC, Hammersmith, London. Tickets £17/15
Sat. 14 Nov. Nortons, Birmingham. Tickets TBA
Sun. 15 Nov. The Garret Sessions, Toddington. Tickets TBA
Fri. 27 Nov. New Gate Arts & Cultural Centre, Derry. Tickets £22.50
Sat 28 Nov. Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. Tickets £22.50 plus bk fee
Mon. 28 Dec. Abbey Mill Theatre, Clonmel. Tickets €26.50
Tickets and further information: www.thewhileawaysmusic.com