The future of Irish ballad Music

PTH2009

going to see Christy moore 2morrow night for the first time and it got me thinking hes 70 now and wont be around for much longer performing and he is one of the last pioneers of irish ballads music etc included in that list would be Finbarr Furey, Deloras and Sean Keane, John Sheehan etc.

I like Glen Hansard and Damien Dempsey but i cant take them seriously when they perform the irish ballads but happy there trying to keep the tradition alive.

the young kids/teens nowadays would not no interest in these old irish ballads.

so by 2040 will the irish ballad scene be almost gone ??? taking over by Ed Sheeran, Adele etc.

endacl

There were ballads sung long before Christy Moore, and they'll be sung long after him. Don't get 'scene' confused with 'charts'.

kfallon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQbXO828Vio

topper75

Christy and pals (Dubliners, Clancy Bros. et al) emerged from a folk boom in the 60s.

Ballad music had pretty much fallen by the wayside you could say prior to their arrival. The revival in Ireland was only reflecting a revival across the English-speaking world and perhaps even beyond.

Even instrumental trad nearly died at one point in Ireland. Pub sessions as we know them today were not, contrary to common belief, always a thing.

It comes and goes in waves. Christy may not have, and does not need to have, a direct successor to receive a torch.

Anyway - he is very much alive, so enjoy him and his music! :-)

PTH2009

American tourists love there trad and ballads and some even attempt to sing them while there here on holidays. It's cheesy as ****

SEPT 23 1989

not enough deprivation, destitution, poverty,penury,beggary and general shoeless hardship to justify writing ballads today

Menas

There is always room for an auld balad. But it evolves over time, like all music.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion around here but I really rate Damien Dempsey, I think he's a fantastic artist.

ongarite

The Gloaming are the new(ish) face of Irish trad music.
Really fantastic band and are building a big following, number 1 in Irish album charts too.
Worth checking out OP, playing in the National Concert Hall at the moment.

doolox

They are not as popular as in the 60's and 70's because people are drinking at home and consuming entertainment through internet etc.

Music and song are ,it seems, the preserve of the poor, the angry and the disenfranchised. When people are rich, contented and have a voice the need for song and music seems to disappear.

Look at who are famous for their songs and music:- Gypsies, African Americans, Irish Travellers etc..... not a single professional or college graduate among them.

Once people become too busy and preoccupied making money and shaping up careers then the soulful traditions of Song and Music are severely attenuated.

I once confessed to a fellow musician that I could not get myself to write a decent song or piece of music like the greats of Irelands past and he replied that my life was too comfortable and predictable. True artists it seems need to suffer for their art and be in painful or eventful situations.

Another aspect is the lack of isolation in todays musical world, it is hard to believe that 30 yrs ago there was only a few hours a week of international pop on radio and most of our listening was through Radio Luxembourg as RTE stuck to a rigid diet of old Irish songs and music of a very indifferent quality.

Now we have instant access to 24 hr international music of all types so that a shared common culture can no longer be called on for artists to make a decent living only in Ireland. Artists must travel extensively to make any money nowadays.

For Forks Sake

ongarite wrote: »

The Gloaming are the new(ish) face of Irish trad music.
Really fantastic band and are building a big following, number 1 in Irish album charts too.
Worth checking out OP, playing in the National Concert Hall at the moment.

Still have a combined age of 206, probably nearer to the OPs category.

donegaLroad

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion around here but I really rate Damien Dempsey, I think he's a fantastic artist.

I used to go and see him when he was starting out back in 2000, he would do the odd gig upstairs in the International Bar. He sang some ballads in his set back then and delivered them as well as Luke Kelly would have.

There are a lot of young musicians where I live, who are very capable ballad singers as well as contemporary music. If you are playing the pubs you don't have a choice, you will always be asked for a few ballads and if you don't sing them you wont be asked back.

Nodin

PTH2009 wrote: »

..............

so by 2040 will the irish ballad scene be almost gone ??? taking over by Ed Sheeran, Adele etc.

Christ jesus no.......

Hitchens

they seem to play the same tune over and over ..........diddley di

endacl

ongarite wrote: »

The Gloaming are the new(ish) face of Irish trad music.
Really fantastic band and are building a big following, number 1 in Irish album charts too.
Worth checking out OP, playing in the National Concert Hall at the moment.

They do what they do really well, but it's kinda traditional music for people who don't really like traditional music. Each individual member is soooooo much better doing their individual thing. The highlight of a Gloaming show? Hayes and Cahill playing together. As they've been doing for decades.

On the subject of ballads, I'll take the opportunity to plug me auld mate Daoiri. G'wan Crumlin!

And as a member of The Four Winds...

DEFTLEFTHAND

donegaLroad wrote: »

I used to go and see him when he was starting out back in 2000, he would do the odd gig upstairs in the International Bar. He sang some ballads in his set back then and delivered them as well as Luke Kelly would have.

There are a lot of young musicians where I live, who are very capable ballad singers as well as contemporary music. If you are playing the pubs you don't have a choice, you will always be asked for a few ballads and if you don't sing them you wont be asked back.

Dempsey does great covers and writes his own ballads as well, he's furthering the genre in the new century. Songs like "Spraypaint Back Alley" just blow me away. A real Dub singing from the heart.

sabat

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion around here but I really rate Damien Dempsey, I think he's a fantastic artist.

Objectively speaking, this is one of the worst songs of all time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMjW4QPx5TI

DEFTLEFTHAND

I wouldn't like that either, it was something he did early on before he had found his sound.

CaraMay

PTH2009 wrote: »

going to see Christy moore 2morrow night for the first time and it got me thinking hes 70 now and wont be around for much longer performing and he is one of the last pioneers of irish ballads music etc included in that list would be Finbarr Furey, Deloras and Sean Keane, John Sheehan etc.

Please God.

BuilderPlumber

There is clearly not enough support given by the media to most forms of music. The media seem to be obsessed with talent competitions, boybands and awful modern country music and little else. I have yet to meet people who actually like the music the media promote.

Irish ballad music along with other genres like proper country music and Elvis-style music remains popular in Ireland. I was glad to see a programme about Christy Moore on last night: a welcome antidote to all them talent contests that are usually on on Sundays and other weekend nights. What I notice a lot is singers like Christy had their own style and were unique. Today's media darlings in modern country music, boybands or talent competitions all somehow sound and look the same.

The sad thing is there are a lot of styles of music endangered by the current attitude of the media. The orientation around so-called 'original material' means that any old poor song written by some singer songwriter gets promoted despite the fact it offers little real value to music. Revivalists like The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners who offered great Irish ballad music would not be allowed make it in today's scene.

It seems only boybands, singer songwriters, poor modern country boyfolk of the Derek Ryan variety and Louis Walsh-manufactured boybands are the only thing that get promoted seriously. As said I know of no one who actually rates this stuff highly: many hate it, others are indifferent about it. There is something wrong when what is marketed as pop and what is marketed as country actually sounds exactly the same today!

I think Declan Hunt from The Battering Ram is one of the most underrated Balladeers there is, every song is sung with complete passion and belief.

Arsemageddon

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

not enough deprivation, destitution, poverty,penury,beggary and general shoeless hardship to justify writing ballads today

All of that sounds like closing time on an average Saturday night in Templebar to me.

melissak

Cara dillion sings "there were roses" by Tommy sands beautifully. Best newish ballad I have heard in a long time

PTH2009

Not of fan of rnb/rap and that ****

I think American tourists can keep Irish ballads alive (it's there dream to sit in a Irish Pub and sing (murder) there favourite Irish song).

Was it the dubliners who used to play there shows at about 1am when the crowd would be all tanked ?

HamsterFace

Check out The Bothy Band on you tube, they look like Led Zeppelin and play excellent trade.

I would love to think if someone like them came along again they would be huge and kick something off.

Check out Mrs Gilhooleys party for a laugh :-)

BuilderPlumber

PTH2009 wrote: »

Not of fan of rnb/rap and that ****

I think American tourists can keep Irish ballads alive (it's there dream to sit in a Irish Pub and sing (murder) there favourite Irish song).

Was it the dubliners who used to play there shows at about 1am when the crowd would be all tanked ?

Modern R&B is almost as bad as modern country music. Old R&B was a great genre. Big Joe Turner, etc. All that lead to Elvis who covered a lot of the early R&B. The new stuff has not one thing in common with the older material.

There is still a huge market for proper music. The media need to realise this and stop trying to sell bland modern pop marketed as country (it is about as country as New York City) or R&B (it ain't got no rhythm and it definitely has no blues).

sligojoek

https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/where-are-your-guts-johnny-cashs-little-known-fight-native-americans

Not quite about the Irish ballad scene but a good read anyway.

bodhrandude

From Sligo Seamie O'Dowd.

sligojoek

bodhrandude wrote: »

From Sligo Seamie O'Dowd.

Seamie is a legend

cajonlardo

The ballad's purpose was to chronicle an event or person and I always judge a ballad on how well it does that.

I've never had to emigrate but when I listen to "thousands are sailing" I am in no doubt what it meant to Irish people of different generations heading to the States. Likewise, I've no interest in soccer but " Joxer goes to Stuttgart" tells me what it meant to fans to follow the Irish teams campaign back then. If you were a foreigner without any knowledge of poteen and heard the ballad McElhatton, wouldn't you have a good idea?

Most Irish people wouldn't know what happened at Jadoville ( why would they?) but if you listen to "No White Feathers" ballad on a youtube video entitled " Heros of Jadoville" you could answer a History Paper test question about the events of those six days and the treatment of the men when they returned to Ireland. There are many more examples, I'm sure you have your own.When I hear a ballad about a person or event I know nothing of and learn something whilst enjoying good singing and tune I think its something else.

PTH2009

sligojoek wrote: »

Seamie is a legend

Hes pretty good. almost sure he plays with Christy Moore.

Loved the Christy Moore documentary on the last 2 nights on RTE. so much meaning to all of his songs.