Armagh musician Brian Finnegan – one of the leading exponents on the folk/trad music scene of today – will return to his native city this weekend for a very unique day and night.
Frontman with some of the genre’s most iconic and important bands, such as Flook, KAN and The Hunger Of The Skin Band, Brian will be appearing at Aonach Mhacha, on Sunday, February 4t.
Back in October 2023, Brian released his first collection of original compositions; ‘Timewaver, The Tunebook’.
Due to his busy autumn touring commitments, he was unable to find a night to fittingly celebrate the launch of Timewaver.
And so Aonach Mhacha will belatedly host the ‘Timewaver Book Launch’ and a one of a kind performance on Sunday.
A retrospective of sorts spanning 35 years of writing, Brian will be joined by two titans of Irish Music – the dazzlingly virtuosic Tim Edey on guitar, and Liam Bradley (Van Morrison Band, Moving Hearts, Clannad) on drums/percussion.
To coincide with this premiere, Brian will be leading two daytime workshops in ‘composition and arrangement’, open to players of any instrument with moderate to experienced level of playing experience. These masterclasses will be two hours each in duration.
The first will be primarily focused on composition; finding the courage to begin, making space internally and externally for your own music to flourish; the discipline of practice and observation; where do tunes come from and the mysterious relationship between the conscious and the creative; honesty in composition; the genius in trying, failing and trying again.
The second workshop will focus more on arrangements; how to integrate tempo, melodic rhythms, key, harmony, genre, groove, form, and instrumentation into a coherent entity, either as a soloist or in a group. How to be generous in ensemble arranging.
This workshop will work on material composed in the first and Brian would like to invite all students to open up, as special guests, the evening concert with a newly composed arrangement crafted during the day.
This is a rare opportunity for players with a natural curiosity and ability to work closely with a musician with as much insight as Brian into both composition and arrangement.
These two classes are combined and class size is capped at 20 students.
First workshop on Sunday is from 10am to 12noon. There will be a one hour break for lunch and the cafe in Aonach Mhacha will be open. The second workshop will run from 1pm to 3pm.
For ticket sales to both the daytime workshops and the evening performance visit www.tickettailor/events/brianfinnegan
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