The wonderful Irish talent of Pierce Turner.AIHS
The American Irish Historical Society will host a special night of quality music at its 5th Ave home.
Join the American Irish Historical Society for a special night of quality music from award-winning Irish artist Pierce Turner, in the unique setting of the society’s Fifth Avenue home. A night not to be missed on none other than St. Patrick’s week; Thursday, March 15th. You can purchase tickets here.
Pierce Turner is a dynamic live performer and consummate musician, who was voted Ireland’s Solo Artist of the Year in 1994. He has worked on numerous occasions with Philip Glass, including his debut album, for which Mr. Glass wrote string arrangements and produced.
When he performed at Carnegie Hall with headliner Iggy Pop and Patty Smith in 2015, The New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine both enthusiastically describe it as, “Soaring”, “A cross between Joni Mitchell and David Bowie”. He had a song in HBO’s The Wire.
Christy Moore has covered his songs and even wrote one about him, “I love the way Pierce Turner Sing".
Turner has a fanatical cult following in Ireland where he resides half of the year, the other being in Manhattan.
The Irish Times' Tony Clayton Lea wrote: “Easily one of the most important Irish Artists of the last twenty years."
The Sunday Times' Liam Fay wrote, “He has created what I confidently believe to be the finest body of work in contemporary Irish music."
New York Magazine put him on their arts cover, calling him “New York’s hidden Gem.”
An Irish Times review of a gig at Whelan’s read “Clambering across tables little shimmies and clattering a smashing ashtray to the ground to the screams of adoration, Turner breaks down the barrier between audience and performer and really gives himself in a way that makes him naked."
The Penguin book The Rough Guide to Irish Music concluded in its lengthy biography “There is no one in the whole wide world of music quite like Pierce Turner, the owner of a voice that drips emotion, a consummate lyricist, and the creator of tunes that are both complex and accessible, just but listen and marvel.”
Top Irish authors on why they like Pierce Turner:
“Pierce Turner is a storyteller, soul man, poet, heartbreaker, with the voice of a choirboy high on rocket fuel. His songs sound like nobody else’s. A true and beautiful and utterly unique artist”
- Joseph O’Connor.
“For many a strange moon, Pierce Turner has been creating some of the most indescribably odd and luminous and beautiful music anywhere – for the Old Weird Ireland, he is something close to a national treasure.”
- Kevin Barry.
“Pierce Turner’s lyricism has had a huge influence on my writing. He is a one of a kind genius poet. I wish I had never heard him so I could listen for the first time. Pierce is the only songwriter I know who has made me laugh and cry during the same song”.
- Eoin Colfer.
“Like his songs, Turner’s live shows are spellbinding: his grip on an audience is so tight he leaves fingerprints.”
- Liam Fay.
“Ray Davies meets Brian Wilson with a little pinch of James Joyce and you have it – the sublime taste of Turner!”
- Billy Roche.
A night not to be missed, ticket price includes a reception. AIHS Members: $15 General Admission: $25 - visit www.aihs.org/events or the Eventbrite page, alternatively for tickets or call 212-288-2263.
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The American Irish Historical Society - for more inforamtion click here.