By Lesley Walsh
ACCLAIMED Irish folk singer Emer Dunne will be treating folk fans to her acclaimed repertoire at Portaferry’s annual Sails and Sounds Festival next month.
Emer will appear at The Portico event alongside Niall Hughes on guitar and fiddle player, Shane Meehan, for a special acoustic performance of her Folk Threads show on Saturday, August 2.
The event comes hot on the heels of the release of Emer’s number one debut folk album, Hourglass, produced by the renowned Bill Shanley, who is behind famous Irish artists like Mary Black and Paul Brady.
Audiences can expect a heartwarming evening of timeless folk songs including Wild Mountain Thyme, Sweet Sixteen, and Grace, along with a few contemporary surprises.
Described by Hot Press as ‘an entertainer through and through’ Emer’s Folk Threads show weaves together Irish, Scottish, English and American folk songs with energy and vitality.
To-date, Emer has scored three number one songs in the official Irish Charts and has attracted glowing national attention including rave reviews following her performance on RTÉ One’s Today Show and RTÉ Radio 1’s Rising Time and the Ronan Collins Show.
Her work has been praised by Irish Music Magazine, Hot Press, the Irish Independent and Irish Country Living and has been hailed as having ‘one of the clearest and most beautiful voices in the current Irish music scene’.
She has already completed three headline Irish theatre tours, alongside two years performing with folk legends The Fureys, and she even joined The High Kings in Australia last summer. She is next preparing for a tour of the US this autumn.
Speaking ahead of her Portaferry debut, Emer said: “We are really looking forward to our show in Portaferry — it’s my first time performing in this beautiful venue, and I look forward to playing for and meeting the audience there.
“The show is packed with well-loved folk songs, and there’s something for everyone to sing along with and enjoy.”
For tickets to Emer Dunne’s ‘Folk Threads’ visit https://www.porticoards.com/whats-on/emer-dunne-trio-presents-folk-threads
