WATCH: IrishCentral was live from Temple Bar Tradfest at Dublin Castle

A “Folkgala” featuring Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer, Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro, and I Draw Slow live from Dublin.

IrishCentral was live from Dublin Castle for the final night of Temple Bar’s Tradfest to witness a “Folkgala” featuring Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer, Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro, and I Draw Slow.

Scroll down to see some highlights from the show! 

Founded in 2006 the Temple Bar Tradfest celebrates the cream of both Irish and international trad and folk artists while also providing a stage to promote the next generation of Irish musicianship. Over the past 11 years, the festival has seen a major growth in terms of size, ambition, and musical breadth, with a line-up that now appeals to the purist and the merely curious alike.

Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer

With twenty-four albums, a Grammy, an Oscar and many other kinds of awards and nominations between them Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer share a transcendent musical bond. It’s as deep, haunting, knowing, and beautiful as the Alabama woods they once called home. Both sang as soon as they could form words, but music is the only language they have ever needed to communicate with and understand each other. 

Their latest album “Not Dark Yet” offers a glimpse into that understanding for the first time and finally, after years of trying to get it made, at the right time. Shelby and Allison wrap their arms around the past, plant their feet in the present, and nod toward what’s around the bend with a co-written “Is It Too Much,” to close out the ten-song set.

“Not Dark Yet” is not a duet record. It is no ordinary collaboration. It is not a creation, but rather a celebration of something that has always been, two voices becoming one and finding home within each other.

Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro

Martin Harley is a supremely talented acoustic roots and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter with a burgeoning global reputation. The latest studio album ‘Static In The Wires’ was released in February 2017, it was produced by Martin with Daniel Kimbro and recorded in Nashville.

It is Harley’s seventh album to date and the second to feature Daniel Kimbro. Their live shows seek to bring aspects of blues, Americana, and folk to the table. Martin plays a 100-year Weissenborn (Hawaiian acoustic lap guitar), Daniel plucks beats, scratches and bows his double bass to create and an unexpected array of textures and sounds.

I Draw Slow

Dublin roots band, I Draw Slow, have been consistently selling out venues and releasing records to critical acclaim in Ireland for the past decade. It’s been five years since the band made their debut US appearance in Nashville, following the release of their second album “Redhills”. Fifteen tours and 25 states later, they’ve become a dominant force on the North American folk music scene and are receiving well-deserved recognition from some of the biggest festivals in the US. They have recently signed to Compass Records in Nashville with their new album “Turn Your Face To The Sun”, which reached number one in Ireland.

Temple Bar Tradfest

Despite their growth Temple Bar Tradfest also aims to keep the weekend-long even a boutique winter festival – closing the door on the darkest season and ushering in the light and energy of spring. The festival also offers concert-goers unique opportunities to experience live music in some of Dublin’s most historic places. From the breath-taking nave of St. Patrick’s Cathedral to the grandeur of City Hall, this is the difference between memorable and unforgettable.

For more information visit Tradfest.ie.