The Mary Wallopers have announced details of their second album and a huge tour of the UK that runs from November through to Christmas this year.
Irish Rock ’n’ Roll is due for release on October 6th and follows last year’s hugely acclaimed self-titled debut (“these youngsters are all about presenting vibrancy, saltiness and edge via roots music from a bygone age, at a moment when such qualities are all but absent form contemporary pop” Mojo).
If every album an artist makes offers a snapshot of where they stand at that point, then the picture presented by Irish Rock ’n’ Roll is one of a band preparing to go stratospheric. It’s an album that manages to perfectly capture the chaos, humour and excitement of the band’s recent live shows whilst also showcasing the incredible emotional of the traditional ballads that they play (both in songs passed down from previous generations and – for the first time on this record – their own songs that promise to be passed down to future generations). One of those traditional ballads – Wexford – is the second single from the album following The Holy Ground and it’s online everywhere now.
The Mary Wallopers’ Andrew Hendy on Wexford:
“The song was written by Pecker Dunne, who was a travelling musician. He brought so many songs into circulation over the years he played, you’ll have heard the Dubliners playing a lot of his songs. He came from a line of travelling musicians. His father was a fiddle player and his mother was a tightrope walker, the whole family’s trade was entertainment. Wexford is one of the most beautiful songs in the ballad tradition. He wrote it about growing up in Wexford. It touches on his upbringing and on the grief that travellers suffer in Ireland which is something that’s not really talked about much. It’s an incredible, emotional song. We’ve always gravitated towards that side of folk music – the most accessible side of music, the kind you can just stand on the street singing. Pecker Dunne wrote so many funny songs, which makes it even more hard hitting when he’d sing a song like this.”
Following a packed out Glastonbury performance last month (check the band’s BBC performance here), The Mary Wallopers will play sets at multiple festivals over the summer:
Sat 22 Jul Latitude, Suffolk
Fri 28 Jul Belladrum Tartan Heart, Inverness-shire
Sat 29 Jul Kendal Calling. Lowther
Sun 30 Jul Deer Shed, Thirsk
Thu 10 Aug Boomtown, Winchester
Fri 18 Aug Beautiful Days, Exeter
Fri 25 Aug Victorious, Portsmouth
Sat 26 Aug Tonder Festival
Fri 1 Sep End of the Road, Salisbury
Sat 2 Sep Moseley Folk & Arts Festival
Following the release of Irish Rock ’n’ Roll they will play an extensive UK tour beginning in the autumn:
Wed 8 Nov Southampton Engine Rooms
Thu 9 Nov Bristol Trinity
Fri 10 Nov London O2 Forum Kentish Town
Sat 11 Nov Manchester Academy 2
Sun 12 Nov Cardiff Tramshed
Wed 15 Nov Folkestone Quarterhouse
Thu 16 Nov Oxford The Bullingdon
Fri 17 Nov Brighton CHALK
Sat 18 Nov Liverpool O2 Academy Liverpool
Sun 19 Nov Norwich Epic Studios
Wed 22 Nov Exeter Phoenix
Thu 23 Nov Wolverhampton Wulfrun
Fri 24 Nov Northampton Roadmender
Sat 25 Nov Sheffield The Leadmill
Wed 13 Dec Edinburgh The Liquid Room
Thu 14 Dec Dundee Fat Sams
Fri 15 Dec Aberdeen Lemon Tree
Sat 16 Dec Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom
Tickets go on sale on Friday 21st July at 9.30am; a fan pre-sale is open from Wednesday 19th July at 9.30 via SEE Tickets for anyone pre-ordering the album
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