Unless you’ve been hiding under the proverbial stone for the last year, you will be aware of the hype surrounding Donegal seventeen year old, Muireann Bradley (pronounced ‘mwirren’), who started guitar lessons with her father at an early age and diligently worked on her impressive technique during lockdown. Her appearance on Jools Holland’s famous New Year Hootenanny in Dec 2023 catapulted her into the public consciousness in the UK and Ireland, and indeed worldwide, thanks to the reach of YouTube. She has single handedly raised the awareness of guitar finger picking in the country blues, ragtime and folk blues styles, with a three finger technique that leaves other guitar players scratching their heads.
However, will she live up to the hype tonight? This is her Belfast debut and also her biggest ever audience in the sold out 650 seat capacity marquee at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, in Custom House Square. We needn’t have feared. Despite her obvious trepidation and nervous giggles (‘there’s a wile lot of yous!’) Bradley lost herself in her playing as soon as she picked up her guitar and proceeded to treat the audience to 90 mins of pure gold. The fifteen songs were taken mainly from her debut album I KEPT THESE OLD BLUES and the reverent audience gave her their full attention to the end, which in itself was quite remarkable. Candyman, first recorded by the Reverend Gary Davis in the 1930s, showed her mastery of the Piedmont (N Carolina) style of guitar picking and also introduced us to her clear, true, sweet but powerful voice. Another Rev. Gary Davis song Delia followed soon after, but Muireann explained that she got it from the playing of Roy Bookbinder and Stefan Grossman, which her father introduced to her growing up. There were several Mississippi John Hurt songs, including Richland Woman Blues and the classic Stagolee murder ballad. Elizabeth Cotten, another North Carolinian and hugely influential folk/blues guitar picker and songwriter is clearly a big influence and Muireann played and sang Freight Train and Shake Sugaree with abandon.
Mostly playing her custom S model guitar built for her by Armagh luthier Ciaran McNally, she also included instrumentals like John Fahey’s version of Buck Dancer’s Choice and Vestapol (which was ‘the first tune she learned on guitar’ - so much for the House of The Rising Sun!). Memphis Minnie provided two tunes, and Dave Van Ronk’s Green Rocky Road provided a welcome change in tempo and style.
If anyone noticed the utter dichotomy of this young Irish teen singing about brothels, domestic violence, gambling, alcoholism and murder, then it didn’t seem to affect the enthusiasm of the audience - and sure, why would it? Perhaps this is part of her charm. All eyes will be on this talented young woman now to see how her career progresses, but we’ll be seeing more of her, for sure.
Support on the night was from another young Donegal guitar whizz, Eoghan Rainey - is there something in the water up there?!
Review and photograph by Eilís Boland