Thrifty Malone: Former Scoil Treasa student is member of the group

A former student of Scoil Treasa (Firhouse) performed at the UK Folk Festival last weekend, reports Ryan Butler.

Thrifty Malone, located in Gibraltar and starring Rob Fitzpatrick, a former student of Scoil Treasa, has been playing in Gibraltar and the Costa del Sol for a long time.

They have collaborated with artists such as Steve Harley, John Otway, Finbar Furey, and the Lighthouse Family, among others.

Their growing collection of original songs and their live performances have earned them a respectable reputation.

They were chosen for the West Coast Folk Festival, one of the top folk festivals in the country, because of their creative music.

This saw them perform a 45-minute set of original Irish folk music, which  included many new songs, including “All Those Summers Ago” (a song about growing up in Firhouse) and “Back In Killarney,” in addition to gig staples like “Fiddler’s Elbow” and “Rocket Ship.”

The Folk Festival, which took place in Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens last weekend, featured over 30 acts spread across three stages.

Notable headliners, including Richard Thompson, Tom Robinson, Eddi Reader, and Kiki Dee, were among the top folk bands that performed.

Thrifty Malone, consisting of lead guitarist Alan Jenkins, drummer Martin Winterstein-Smith, mandolinist Rob Fitzpatrick, bassist Trevor Emmett, and vocalist Trevor Emmett, were the first act to perform on the Introducing Stage.

“We are really excited playing at the festival and want to thank Solid Entertainments for the opportunity,” Rob said in reference to the occasion. During rehearsals, we put a lot of effort into honing and organising our new content. We were excited to perform the eight original songs, all of which were created by the band members and included their creative participation. We started with roughly twelve original songs.