Co-hosting the Folk Show: Daoiri relished BBC airwaves experience
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A Crumlin musician recently co-hosted BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show alongside legendary English music broadcaster Mark Radcliffe – and the show is available to stream now on the BBC Sounds website and app.
Daoirí Farrell, who worked as an electrician before trading his tool belt for a bouzouki, has performed his Irish trad music on the Royal Albert Hall stage and scooped up two awards from the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017.
Daoirí Farrell who co-hosted BBC Radio 2’s Folk Show with Mark Radciffe
While being on the BBC airwaves was a change from being on stage, Daoirí relished the experience, where he got to talk about and share music from some of his favourite musicians, directly from his home.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to be asked to co-host on the Folk Show,” he told The Echo. “It’s one of the most listened to folk shows out there and I'm delighted for the opportunity.
“I was delighted to be asked to do it. I love it and I try to listen to the show as often as I can anyway, and Mark is a really nice guy also.
“The listeners got an insight into some of the music that I listened to and musicians that inspired me to become a performer over the years.”
During lockdown, Daoirí has been staging weekly live streams from his home, and he’s been working on material which will form the basis of a lockdown recording that he’s planning to release in the near future.
While the online concerts have provided an outlet for performing his music, the Crumlin man is a fan of being on stage in a venue – whether the audience is large or small – and savouring the atmosphere.
“If it’s a crowd of six or 6,000 I’m playing to when I’m singing, I close my eyes and I’m transported to a different place,” he previously told The Echo.
To listen back to the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe, featuring Daoirí Farrell, go to www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jvct.
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