On this weeks episode Simon K speaks to Juliana Erkkonen & Donal Gibbons.
Juliana Erkkonen is a classically trained violin player from Finland who moved to Ireland in
2003. She works as a self employed musician performing, recording, teaching and
composing original music. She has been a member of 10 bands and with them
has released 6 albums, 1 EP and 5 singles in the genres of bluegrass, klezmer
and folk rock and original music. She has toured Europe, worked with Theatre
Companies such as Fibin and Macnas and is a contracted artist with Galway
City Arts Office. She has performed on both local and national radio and TV and
played on the award winning documentary Mother and Baby. She has worked as
a session musician with bands such as Eleanor Shanley, Sean Keane, The
Whileaways, Anna Mullarkey, Ceara Conway, Ruth Dillon, Rodney Owl, the
Grey Willows,The Invisible Jug Band,The Rocky River Bluegrass Show,Mikey and the Scallywags,and is currently part of the Folk band The Raines with Ruth dillon & Yvonne Tiernan.
Donal Gibbons is a musician from Shrule who hosts a music show on Cloughanover sounds radio station.He has ran a stage in Electric picnic,and was the organiser of The Last Waltz tribute show,a tribute to the band in the black box and other promotions.
Himself and Juliana have also formed a group consisting of Stephen Monaghan (This Nachez), Wil Merrigan (The Saw Doctors), Jamie O'Neill (The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra), Anto Thistlethwaite (The Waterboys; The Saw Doctors) and Dave Clancy called Cousin Tablet.