Tradiohead bring some surprises to Tuam Trad Festival
IT'S hard to believe that the Tuam Trad Festival is only coming into its third year as it feels like it's has been part of the town for donkeys' years. I suppose this shows how widely accepted, embraced and supported the festival has been, and rightly so. Since the beginning, the festival has attracted new people to the town and has grown and flourished, bringing new and more diverse sounds each year. This year is no exception with the most unlikely and most genial marriage of traditional music with that of rock band Radiohead, forming Tradiohead, who play Saturday, September 15 upstairs in Canavan's at 7 pm. Not only is the idea genial but the name brings a beaming smile to my face. The letter T makes all the difference. 'It's an idea that I've had for ages, but it was only an idea until we decided to just try a few songs out,' said Jimi McDonnell, lead singer of the band, which includes some of the most accomplished traditional musicians in the county. Comprising Philip Fogarty on accordion and bodhrán, Pat Hargan on guitar, Michael Chang on fiddle, viola and mandolin and Jimi McDonnell on vocals, all members are huge Radiohead fans and are delighted with the response they have received so far from both trad heads and Radiohead fans. Building their repertoire from classic albums The Bends and OK Computer, as well as more recent Radiohead records Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows, Tradiohead apply their trad sensibilities to a re-working of some of the most lauded songs in popular music. 'We would just try out a Radiohead song and then the lads would go through their catalogue of traditional songs to see what might fit in with it,' explains Jimi. The formula seems to be working and the band has had great success with live performances, including two shows at Electric Picnic this year. The band was also recently invited by Galway Bay fm presenter Vinny Browne to play live on the Arts Show and they also performed as the closing band at the 2012 Galway Sessions Festival. 'It's great to get a chance to, and a great honour, to play trad festivals and we're really looking forward to the show,' says Jimi. As with any trad festival some members of the band will be sharing their talent and music at different stages throughout the programme so Tradiohead will be playing an early evening show on Saturday upstairs in Canavan's. The band will take to the stage at 8 pm and admission is €5. Get in early and don't miss your chance to witness some of the greatest songs given a traditional twist. â€â€œ Darragh O'Dea.