Colm embarks on nationwide tour

CELEBRATED Clondalkin singer-songwriter Colm Gavin is fresh off the heels of two sold-out benefit concerts in New York City at the prestigious Joanne’s on West 68th Street, a venue owned and operated by Lady Gaga’s father, Joe Germanota.

Gavin curated and performed at both concerts, which were in aid of Lupus Research Alliance, the illness that Lady Gaga’s aunt Joanne passed away from in December 1974. and for whom the venue is named.

Colm Gavin’s brand new album ‘Diggin’ the Idleflower’ was launched in Whelan’s this past month.

‘Song for Sam’, one of the tracks from the new record, has spent the better part of a month on the RTE Radio 1 Recommends list.

He will now embark on a nationwide tour, which will see him bring his own unique blend of witty onstage banter and sensitive compositions to venues in Galway, Clare, Connemara, Armagh, Belfast, and Dublin.

This week, we sat down with Colm to discuss the upcoming tour.

What inspired ‘Diggin’ the Idleflower’? Was your Clondalkin upbringing an influence?

This is my fourth official release with Beo Records.

The beauty of being signed with an independent record label is that the inclusion of specific content is entirely at your own discretion.

There’s flavours of Jazz, ragtime & folk like a meandering vein all the way through this record; that’s a degree of freedom I wouldn’t have if this was released with a major label.

That kind of unfettered creative expression is something I really cherish.

I think your living environment is always an influence in one way or another.

I’m always interested in human behaviour & character writing.

How long has this album/tour been in the works?

My last two releases, “Flamingo Variations” & “The 1992 Tapes,” were entirely solo endeavours.

I wanted the feel of a New England Jazz parlour band, and I think we captured that.

From June to September, I’ve got shows in Galway, Connemara, Clare, Belfast, Armagh, Dublin and the final stop, Songfest 2024 in Warwickshire, Rugby.

It’s all happening’

Are there any songs on the album you particularly enjoyed making? If so, why?

The whole album felt like a season shift, and I have Aidan Duffy to thank for that.

Aidan produced this album and, like me, treats the process of recording like butterfly catching, swing your net and watch your aim, keep quiet for the big ones, and try to stand left of the process wherever possible.

He’s a master; there are precious few of them left.

Are you excited to come back home?

I just wrapped up a string of shows in the USA.

I was asked by The Pulver Family & Joe Germanota (Lady Gaga’s Father) to curate two nights of music in Joanne’s on 68th street in New York City.

Both shows were in aid of Lupus Research Alliance and had fabulous performances from Rosie Timmon, Madelyn Monaghan, Julea and a whole host of others, myself included.

The work I do brings me all over the place, which is an occupational perk I never tire of.

What are your plans after the tour is over? (After a well-deserved break, of course!)

There’s so much coming down the line that it’s hard to see beyond next week.

I’ll be back in the United States before the close of 2024, I’m toying with the idea of releasing a seasonal duet before the end of the year, but like a lot of these ideas, they’re quietly brewing in the back of my mind all the time, Sometimes the coffee boils just right, sometimes you burn the asparagus; it can’t always be helped.

Who would you like to thank for helping you reach this point in your career?

I talk about him all the time.

My music teacher, Peter Stanton, who ran the Clondalkin School of music from the mid-nineties until he passed away in 2021, was a heroic figure, a renaissance man through and through.

He was never appreciated enough in his lifetime; there should be a plaque commemorating the man in the centre of Clondalkin Village.

I learned everything from him— musical composition, writing, arranging, how to conduct and how to navigate yourself through the waters of a cut-throat business.

He was a soothsayer, a John the Baptist type figure, and he gave Clondalkin some of its most enduring and promising musicians, I hope that if anyone with any sway is reading this, they see to it that Peter’s memory is properly commemorated in Clondalkin village.