“Without Lomax it is possible there would have been no Blues explosion, no R&B movement, no Beatles and no Stones and no Velvet Underground”, Brian Eno.

Alan Lomax (1915–2002) was the world’s greatest song collector. He was proudest of his driving, his thousands of miles and days down nameless roads seeking out the jewels of the human spirit. He is most famous for his work in the penitentiaries, plantations, and lonely farms of the Mississippi Delta, where he returned no less than seven times between 1933 and 1985 to listen, observe, fraternise, and record night after night, year after year; but he repeated this feat with astounding results in hundreds of obscure places in the USA, the Caribbean, Europe, and North Africa.

To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, Skibbereen Arts Festival and host Donal Dineen will celebrate his immense legacy,  in the company of singers and musicians David Kitt, Cian Nugent, James Yorkston, Alasdair Roberts, Liz Clarke and Eibhlís Ní Chronín.

David Kitt is one of Ireland’s best loved singers. Having spent the last year touring with David Gray, the Dubliner is embarking on a nationwide tour but will perform some of his favourite songs from the Lomax collection. 

Cian Nugent is one of the most exciting musicians and composers in Ireland today. Pitchfork described his compositions as rising “steadily and delicately to glorious but restrained crescendos.”

Eibhlís Ní Chronín from Baile Bhuirne is one of Ireland’s greatest traditional singers and a granddaughter of the great Bess Cronin who Lomax recorded on his Irish visit in 1951. 

Liz Clark is a West Cork-based singer/songwriter from Colorado. She tours extensively and has recorded 4 solo studio albums of melodic folk songs. 

Fresh from their Skibbereen Arts Festival double bill, Alasdair Roberts and James Yorkston will both showcase some of the great Scottish folk songs from the Lomax collection.  

Kerryman Donal Dineen is one of the most respected figures in Irish music today. As a Radio Presenter, Photographer, DJ and Filmmaker he has been at the forefront of the Irish music scene for over 20 years and is the perfect host for this very special tribute to a very special man.

http://www.skibbereenartsfestival.com/tribute-to-alan-lomax-hosted-by-donal-dineen