Duke Special to debut his new tour and album Hallow at The Source Arts Centre Thurles
By nature Duke Special is a curious person. He is curious about theatre, books, music, poetry, art, love, life, redemption, death, 78RPM records and most recently, gardening! All of this is evidenced by the variety of musical adventures throughout his career. His creative talents have seen him involved in projects as diverse as writing the theme tune for the Irish Sesame Street to writing the music for and appearing in Deborah Warner’s critically acclaimed 2009 production of Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ at London’s National Theatre.
Duke Special’s latest studio album, ‘Hallow’; a beautiful collection of songs entirely based on poems by Belfast contemporary poet Michael Longley, who was once described by his friend Seamus Heaney as ‘a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodian of griefs and wonders’. His poetry is full of gentleness, honesty, mischief and love, and peppered with a cast of artists, animals, flowers, friends and long forgotten soldiers. As ever, Duke Special is mining a new seam of inspiration, always trying to get to the bottom of what it means to be human.
On this very special tour commissioned by the Strollers Touring Network, Duke Special will be performing songs and music based on the poetry of this influential and renowned Belfast writer and this will be the very first time the songs are played to a live audience. Longley’s poems are full of gentleness, honesty, mischief, love and are peppered with a cast of artists, animals, flowers, friends and long forgotten soldiers. Duke has a message for his audience – ‘I genuinely hope that these songs will speak to you, inspire, comfort, challenge, provoke, make you cry, make you smile, make you wonder and all the things that good art should do.’
A very magical night of music awaits!
