Photo Credit: Ruth Medjber
Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke will return to touring in November with a run of UK dates. The original tour plan has been expanded and Declan will now play nine shows with tickets for the dates on sale from today (June 25th). The tour is in support of his recently released ‘Arrivals’ album that received critical praise and appeared on numerous chart lists including at #2 in the Official Irish National Album Chart, #2 in the Official UK Folk Albums Chart and #4 in the Official UK Americana Chart. A full list of dates and more about the album follows:
Thurs 4 Nov BIRMINGHAM Glee Club
Fri 05 Nov LONDON Kings Place
Sat 06 Nov MANCHESTER The Stoller Hall
Mon 8 Nov SHEFFIELD Abbeydale Picture House
Tues 09 Nov GLASGOW Websters Theatre
Wed 10 Nov NEWCASTLE Gosforth Civic Theatre
Fri 12th Nov CANTERBURY Canterbury Cathedral Lodge
Sat 13 Nov CAMBRIDGE Storey’s Field Centre
Sun 14 Nov BRIGHTON Chalk Venue
Tickets on sale 10am Fri 25 June: https://declanorourke.com
Photo credit: Lawrence Watson
Declan’s new, Paul Weller-produced album Arrivals enjoyed both critical and commercial success on its release in April. Debuts at #2 in the Official Irish National Album Chart, #2 in the Official UK Folk Albums Chart and #4 in the Official UK Americana Chart were matched by stellar reviews, from MOJO who said ‘Hail Declan O’Rourke, master storyteller and overnight sensation - at last’ and UNCUT “….if he’s been a best-kept secret up to now ARRIVALS should finally blow his cover'” to the Big Album of the Week in THE SUN newspaper and a glowing review in THE SUNDAY TIMES, amongst many more.
Acclaim from radio broadcasters included BBC RADIO 2’s Mark Radcliffe who called Declan “one of the most significant Irish singers and writers of his generation” and BBC RADIO LONDON’s Robert Elms who named title track “Arrivals”, “My Favourite Song Right Now”.
Fellow musicians were generous with their praise. The Who’s Pete Townshend commented “It is a gem. Fabulous guitar and singing. Just love this Arrivals album’. Jerry Douglas said ‘Declan O’Rourke is one of Ireland’s gifts to the world. He’s amazing’ and Paul Weller summed up: “He is in a field of his own, the roots are in the fertile tradition of folk music, (people’s music), but with that he brings such modernity and timelessness to his words and music that is far, far reaching. Beyond limiting categories.”
Recorded over six days at Black Barn studios in Surrey, Arrivals sees Declan O’Rourke present the most emotionally raw and affecting album of his career. The sound is stripped back to Declan’s soulful and resonant voice, his virtuosic acoustic guitar playing and only the occasional sparse arrangement of strings and late-night drums bringing colour and light to the LP’s 10 songs. Weller, a fan of Declan’s songwriting for some years, also adds his multi-instrumental abilities to the recordings, including a beautiful piano accompaniment to the closing track.
O’Rourke’s last album Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine, documented rare first-hand accounts from that devastating period of Irish history and garnered numerous awards. His writing is much admired and covered by fellow artists, most notably his classic 2004 song “Galileo” which has been recorded by Eddi Reader and Josh Groban amongst others.
Declan O’Rourke Website https://declanorourke.com
Declan O’Rourke Twitter https://twitter.com/declanorourke
Declan O’Rourke Instagram https://www.instagram.com/declanorourke/
Declan O’Rourke Facebook https://www.facebook.com/declanorourkemusic/
Declan O’Rourke YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLrj6sf580-IClUnx7GMnJQ
Declan O’Rourke Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/08YnZ1u94kQ47JW7wVUume?si=UIFVG4VzQgKcnYhpKWzbpA
Declan O’Rourke’s new record, Arrivals, is an exercise in less-is-more. For his seventh LP (and his first for eastwest), the celebrated Irish 44-year-old has Paul Weller in the production chair and though the songs are stripped to their bones, they want not for richness or depth.