Having been born and raised in Mayobridge, Co Down, a short distance of less than five miles away, it’s something of a surprise to learn that Kieran Goss has never played a concert in Rathfriland before now. Local promoter Andy Peters has been a great asset to the town for many years past in bringing live music to the area and his more recent activities as a member of Rathfriland and District Regeneration Group, has seen an old bank building turned into a cultural centre which can host musical events, drama groups and a community cinema facility. The venue, Chandler’s House, has turned out to be a really superb space, both intimate and perfectly suited for the type of performance that Kieran Goss and his wife Annie Kinsella are renowned for delivering.
Tonight, to a capacity crowd, the two musicians provide a cosy atmosphere filled with endearing music and story telling that has the audience both laughing and singing along at various stages of the evening. Kieran reveals that the most recent album, OH THE STARLINGS has been available since just before the pandemic but the opportunity to tour the songs was not possible until this year as a result of the lockdowns. Concentrating a good portion of the concert on this release and the batch of excellent songs, both Kieran and Annie blend seamlessly together on harmony vocals and engage the room with their obvious charm and witty communications. The show opens with We’ve Got Us and the atmosphere is instantly set among the hushed audience who instantly feel part of the performance. The title song of the new album follows and Oh the Starlings is a lovely reflection on nature and the birds that migrate to the West of Ireland every year.
Come Back Liza is a cover of a song written by Harry Belafonte who died in April last. The calypso swing of the song is joyful and the audience are invited to sing along to the chorus. Michael’s Orchard is written around a true story of a Dublin man who took to farming in Co Clare and defied all local expectations by succeeding in growing apple trees on barren lands. It’s a song written by renowned local songwriter Colum Sands. Kieran also looks to his back catalogue of songs that date back to his 1989 debut album and he performs Brand New Star in addition to other popular songs Out Of My Head and Reasons To Love (Heaven On Earth).
After a short interval, an instrumental called The Marble and the Glass highlights the excellent guitar skills of Kieran as he moves fluently and fluidly along the fretboard in a virtuoso display of fingerstyle excellence. There are cover versions of Crying In the Rain (Carole King/Howard Greenfield), dedicated to the memory of Don Everly who died in 2021, Feeling Groovy (Simon and Garfunkel) and the Four Tops classic Reach Out (I’ll Be There). New songs are also given an airing and the reaction is very positive to The Sunny Side Of Me, Silver Lining, and Stop Awhile, Stay Awhile. Another new song, dedicated to the family dog is preceded by a tale about touring schedules and having to leave their canine friend with a neighbour as The Beautiful Bluebell, You And Me recounts long walks by the sea and coming home to a warm and loving home.
Another cover song Jewel Of The South (Rodney Crowell) is a highlight and delivered with due reverence; the sweet vocal delivery from Annie both delicate and very captivating. Other songs performed from the new album include the beautiful Hymn To Love, an adaptation of the WB Yeats poem, The Song Of Wandering Aengus, and the lullaby Time To Go Sleeping, which ends the show tonight.
The short Irish tour that is currently taking place is titled Home For the Summer and with Covid having cancelled 156 shows across 6 different countries for this couple in recent years, it’s really great to see Kieran and Annie returning again to live performance and bringing their obvious talents into the public domain again.
Review and photograph by Paul McGee