Press Release
Out May 29 via Down the Road Records / Exceleration Music
Celebrated Sligo band joined by Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, Sarah Jarosz, Indigo Girls, and others to perform songs by Sinéad O’Connor, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan, and more
New single “Blue Is the Eye” feat. Sarah Jarosz — Out Now | On Tour Throughout North America
Legendary Irish ensemble Dervish have announced the release of their new album, The Great Irish Songbook Vol. 2: Poets & Storytellers, out May 29 via Down the Road Records/Exceleration Music. The album marks the follow-up to their acclaimed 2019 collaboration The Great Irish Songbook, which drew on the timeless canon of Irish traditional song. This sequel turns its gaze to the present: a collection of songs by contemporary Irish songwriters whose work is actively expanding the tradition, featuring material from Phil Coulter, Shane MacGowan, Sinéad O’Connor, Van Morrison, Ye Vagabonds, The Breath, and more.
True to the spirit of the first volume, Poets & Storytellers brings together an exceptional cast of guest artists from across the folk, country, and Americana worlds. Sarah Jarosz lends her voice to the longing “Blue Is the Eye;” Indigo Girls carry John Spillane’s “Passage West” into new emotional territory; The Del McCoury Band and Sister Sadie make the case that bluegrass and Irish music are kindred spirits; Glen Hansard performs his own “Leave the Light On;” Eddi Reader channels the Celtic soul of Van Morrison’s “One Irish Rover;” and Moya Brennan contributes the Irish-language celebration “Tobar an tSaoil.” Madeleine Peyroux, Aoife O’Donovan, and Iron & Wine round out a guest roster that reads like a who’s-who of contemporary roots music.
Anchoring it all is Dervish themselves — singer Cathy Jordan, alongside Brian Mc Donagh, Shane Mitchell, Liam Kelly, and Tom Morrow — whose decades of playing together have produced an ensemble sound that is both unmistakably Irish and effortlessly accommodating of outside voices. The album’s emotional centerpiece may well be Dervish’s guest-free take on the Pogues classic “The Broad Majestic Shannon,” a performance that showcases Jordan’s singing at its most affecting and the band’s deep roots in the tradition they’ve spent 35-plus years serving.
The timing of the release could not be more fitting. As The Great Irish Songbook Vol. 2 arrives, Dervish also find themselves the subjects of a PBS documentary and concert film airing nationally this spring, bringing their electrifying live performance and remarkable story to wider audiences and casting a well-deserved spotlight on a band that has carried Irish music onto the world stage for more than three decades.
With The Great Irish Songbook Vol. 2, Dervish has delivered another testament to the living, breathing present tense of Irish music — proof that a tradition this vital doesn’t need protecting so much as it needs continuing.
Track Listing
- “Passage West” (by John Spillane) feat. Indigo Girls
- “Jackie” (by Sinéad O’Connor) feat. Aoife O’Donovan
- “Rock the Machine” (by Lisa O’Neill) feat. Iron & Wine
- “Blue Is the Eye” (by Brian and Diarmuid Glynn) feat. Sarah Jarosz
- “The Broad Majestic Shannon” (by Shane MacGowan) feat. Cathy Jordan
- “Land of My Other” (by Rioghnach Sinead Connolly) feat. Sister Sadie
- “One Irish Rover” (by Van Morrison) feat. Eddi Reader
- “Leave a Light On” (by Glen Hansard) feat. Glen Hansard
- “Tobar an tSaoil” (by Moya Brennan & Ashling Jarvis) feat. Moya Brennan
- “As I Leave Behind Neidin” (by Jimmy McCarthy) feat. Madeleine Peyroux
- “The Town I Loved So Well” (by Phil Coulter) feat. The Del McCoury Band
North American Tour Dates
Dervish Online
For press inquiries, interview requests, or advance listening, contact:
Brendan Gilmartin / Chart Room Media
brendan@chartroommedia.com | 347-450-3048