The Cruellest Month – National Concert Hall – 13/04/25 – Live Review
by Killian Laher

The Cruellest Month – Night 2 – The National Concert Hall, Dublin

A second night for the Bryce Dessner-curated mini-festival in the National Concert Hall.  Though the venue was far from a Waste Land (T.S. Eliot), kicking off with a string quartet playing the somewhat startling Bryce Dessner piece Aheym.  There was barely time to draw breath before Oisin Leech came on stage, joined by Graham Heaney on bass and Cormac Curran on keyboards to play selections from last year’s Cold Sea album.  These brittle yet excellent songs were enhanced by contributions from Bryce Dessner, Sam Amidon, Kate Stables and Thomas Bartlett, the musicians swapping in and out on the various songs.  Also present was Deirdre Lowe to recite the weather on Maritime Radio, Leech’s impressionistic guitar joined by great swells of double bass from Heaney.

We transitioned seamlessly into Kate Stables’ set, playing guitar on some dark, folky tunes.  She was joined by Amidon and Bartlett for the This Is The Kit tune Nits.  Later, Cormac Curran reappeared along with members of Ye Vagabonds.  She was followed by a set of almost country laments from Sam Amidon, who sang softly while playing guitar, banjo and discordant violin, joined by practically every single musician present for the old Sarah Lancaster tune I’m On My Journey Home.  The effect might have been overwhelming in others’ hands, but the musicians played with subtlety, with nobody dominating.

Finally, Ye Vagabonds played a set of trad-inspired songs.  Newer songs such as On Sitric Road were delivered with note-perfect harmonies and plenty of space to breathe, despite the presence of multiple musicians.  The night finished up with almost all musicians on stage for a finale of The Flood.  It was a really well put together night, with fine musicians on show playing each other’s songs.  It was clear they were having a great time, and the audience did too!