Fiddler Martin Hayes returns to Ballymaloe Grainstore on Friday 12 June after his sold-out show in March 2025.
??Martin is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the world of Irish traditional music today. His soulful interpretation of traditional Irish music has been heard on concert stages all over the world. He toured and recorded with the late great guitarist Dennis Cahill for over twenty years (he and Dennis performed for President Obama), and The Gloaming, which he founded. He has performed on stage with Sting, Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Simon and Yo-Yo Ma. Martin has been recognised as Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil) from TG4, Musician of the Year at the inaugural BBC Folk Awards, and Instrumentalist of the Year at the inaugural RTÉ Folk Awards.
His playing places the tradition within a wider contemporary context with his unique and insightful interpretations of Irish music. Because he is deeply grounded in the roots of the music and simultaneously open to new possibilities through collaboration, he has been able to develop an authentic style of Irish traditional music that is soulful, vibrant and relevant for today’s audiences.
Martin will be joined on stage by Brian Donnellan, an accomplished concertina, bouzouki, harmonium and piano player who hails from an East Clare family steeped in traditional Irish music. He is a member of the highly renowned Tulla Céilí Band and the newly established quintet, Martin Hayes & The Common Ground Ensemble. Brian has performed at many national and international festivals including Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy and The Feakle Festival as well as concerts in London, New York and The National Concert Hall.
"In the decades to come, we’ll surely talk of having seen this man in the way others talk of Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane." – The Irish Times
