WATCH: Irish singer-songwriter George Murphy performs from Dublin

Irish singer-songwriter George Murphy performed a virtual concert from Ireland on May 9 and you can watch it back right here on IrishCentral.

Presented as part of the ongoing IrishCentral Happy Hour live stream series, George Murphy’s virtual concert on May 9 was streamed right here on IrishCentral and over on our Facebook page.

Murphy, who previously toured with The High Kings, performed a mix of traditional Irish music, covers, and his own original music - perfect for a Saturday night!

You can tune in to George Murphy's live stream concert right here:

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About George Murphy

George Murphy, who hails from the Dublin suburb of Beaumont, exploded onto the Irish music scene after memorable appearances on the RTE television show “You’re a Star.”

Just out of secondary school at the age of 17, he very quickly took over the Irish music scene. He signed to Sony Ireland and his debut album ‘Dreamed A Dream’ went to No.1 in the Irish charts. The album eventually went on to gain triple Platinum status. 

George had made a big impact with insiders on the Irish music scene - Phil Coulter said George “is the most exciting vocal find in Ireland,” the late Ronnie Drew said George was “a voice beyond his years,”  Peggy Seeger said George had “a very honest approach to the songs, kept them true to their origin” and Hotpress magazine described him at the time as “a serious contender.”

George enjoyed a lot of success in the early part of his career playing a lot of top festivals and venues in Ireland. In 2006, George released his second album “So The Story Goes,” which saw him move from old folk songs to a more indie rock n roll vibe and penning his own songs. George gained new fans for his new sound and songwriting skills, but some fans of his previous material were confused by this change in direction and the album, while getting great reviews and airplay, didn't do as well as George and the label would have liked.

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In 2009, George and Sony Ireland had parted company and he decided to embark on a small tour in America where he released his third album “The Ballad of Archie Thompson” featuring The Dubliners and a duet of Bob Dylan's 'Sara' with Christy Dignam. This album showed George was back as a folk artist and doing what people loved best of him. He enjoyed success playing festivals in New York, Chicago, Florida, and, in 2010, he decided to make the move stateside.

He spent three years in the States which saw him headline many festivals. He gained plenty of experience along with a whole bunch of new fans. For personal reasons, George came back to Ireland in 2013; he had grown a little tired of the road and felt that he had lost some motivation. A dark time was to follow and he said himself, “it’s a tough life being on the road as an artist, it’s full of ups and downs, the highs are very high but the lows are very low.”

Fortunately, it didn’t take George too long to get back on his feet. He began to take writing his own material more seriously and started playing smaller pubs, clubs, and music venues to try out some of his new material. 

“It’s a difficult bridge to cross playing your own songs to a live audience," George recalls.

In 2016, George released his fourth album Shadowman (The Stable Sessions), a live in-studio CD and DVD that feature some of Ireland's finest session musicians and interviews with George between songs. The album consists of both originals and George's old traditional favourites. 

In 2017, George was offered to join The High Kings after Martin Furey’s departure. Putting the solo career on hold was a big call for George but seeing the opportunity of travelling the world and sharing his voice on new stages in new countries to new audiences was something George couldn't turn down so he became a High King and received a fantastic reaction everywhere he went. 

Traveling with The High Kings soon became a bit musically draining for George as the set was the same every night and he was feeling the frustration of a lack of creativity and rawness in the music that he loved so much in his solo venture. This craving for creativity in his music led George to set up a session in his local bar and inviting players and singers aplenty to come join him, and join him they did. Guitars, banjos, whistles, mandolins, bodhrans, fiddles, bass, electric all showed up after a couple of weeks and THE RISING SONS were born. 

George was in love with music again and it was clear he had more desire to be a Rising Sons than a High King. After speaking with Pat Egan Management and pitching an idea to take the 'Sons' on the road, George found himself new representation and promotion from one of Ireland’s best promoters boasting over 50 years in the business. 

"In an industry full of ups and downs, sometimes you have to follow your heart and so that's what I am doing. I hope to see some familiar faces and lovers of the music at the upcoming shows. I'm excited for the first time in a long time.”

You can learn more about George Murphy on his website and Facebook page.

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