Festival Concert with The Mairtín O'Connor Trio

Virtuoso accordion player Máirtín O’Connor, named Ireland’s 2015 Traditional Musician of the Year,(TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards), brings his remarkable trio to the Ballydehob Tradfest for the first time.

Galway virtuoso Máirtín O’Connor's accordion playing and range of compositions have been dazzling audiences for over 30 years," proclaimed the Irish Examiner upon Máirtín's award in February, 2015.

He is joined by Séamie O’Dowd, a defining member of Dervish for over a decade and a brilliant guitarist and singer, and the astonishing fiddler and multi All-Ireland champion Cathal Hayden (Four Men and a Dog).

Individually recognized figureheads of the Irish tradition, the trio has built a reputation for their astounding virtuosity and vitality.  The trio will appear at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina and the Savannah Music Festival as well as other venues.

"Irish traditional music's own 'power trio'," wrote Earle Hitchner in The Irish Echo. "These three mean business and achieve art. Bravo."

Máirtín O’Connor is one of the most respected and best-loved musicians ever to emerge from Ireland. One of the main musical forces behind the now legendary Riverdance phenomenon, through his work with De Dannan, Midnight Well and Skylark and also as a solo artist he has quite simply gone where no Irish accordion player had gone before. Born and raised in County Galway, Máirtín began playing the accordion at the age of nine, inspired by his paternal grandparents who both played the instrument.  His music reflects traditional Irish music as well as the wonderful swing of the 1920s Flanagan Brothers, Parisian musettes, Cajun music and Eastern European tunes. His career has included recordings with Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, the Waterboys (Fisherman's Blues CD), Tanita Tikaram, Townes Van Zandt, and The Chieftains.

With Cathal and Seamie, Máirtín’s trio redefines concepts of Irish music. They play with a rare vitality and virtuosity, using sophisticated arrangements and elements of swing, bluegrass, and more. Their formidable musical relationship has lasted over a decade, with two albums released: ‘Crossroads' in 2009, and 2012's 'Going Places', which features Australian guitar whiz Tommy Emmanuel—with whom the O'Connor Trio toured—on one tune.

“The versatile trio have managed to bottle the essence of their dynamic live shows, on their eclectic new album Crossroads,” raved Siobhan Long in The Irish Times.

The Máirtín O’Connor Trio has recently been touring as the band for the great Irish singer Christy Moore. The trio also toured the U.S. for three seasons (2011-2014) as members of Martin Hayes's Masters of Tradition, drawing standing ovations for their dazzling sets in venues from Symphony Space to UCLA's Royce Hall. The trio has toured extensively through Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, and more recently in Australia and New Zealand.