Lisa O'Neill
plus Iona Zajac
Wondrous. Inimitable. An Irish raconteur.
Irish songwriter Lisa O’Neill has had a remarkable couple of years. Her critically acclaimed album All of This Is Chance, made many best of 2023 lists. She’s also famed for performing an emotional rendition of Fairytale Of New York with Glen Hansard and members of The Pogues and The Dubliners at Shane MacGowan’s funeral in Co Tipperary and her adaptation of Bob Dylan’s All the Tired Horses soundtracked the final scene of epic TV drama Peaky Blinders.
In 2024 she took on the prestigious role of a Fellow of The Seamus Heaney Centre in Belfast.
A raconteur in the truest sense of the word, O’Neill is a five time BBC Folk Award nominee and her previous album Heard a Long Gone Song was named The Guardian’s 2019 Folk Album of the Year.
Her wondrous live performances are equally impressive. She’s sold-out many venues including Vicar Street in Dublin. For an incredible night of live music, be sure to catch her next performance in Gateshead.
Need to know
Venue: Sage Two (Theatre Layout)
Price: From £35.30
Stage Times: Announced nearer showtime.
Age: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult
What they say
“O’Neill is a cultural hero in her own right… a modern artist tapped into the ancient.”
New York Times
“You’re unlikely to hear a more original, more powerful, more breathtaking release than this all year”
Narc Magazine (5/5 Album Review for All of This Is Chance)
Uncompromising, stunning, soul-shaking stuff.”
The Guardian
Watch
Watch Lisa’s magical NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance here.
“The music is stark and cerebral, the voice is singular and personal with few flourishes, and I find it captivating,” said NPR Music’s Bob Boilen. Lisa performed three songs from her new record (‘Silver Seed’, ‘Old Note’ and ‘Goodnight World’) as well as a new track, ‘When cash was King’, which she calls a ‘trutheen’ – a little truth – and not a fully fledged song, about her recent experience trying to buy a coffee with cash in London. “It dawned on me that if a person is without a bank account or a mobile phone in the large cities today then they are at a huge disadvantage and sometimes unable to purchase basic essentials like food or water.” – read the full article
plus Iona Zajac
Iona Zajac is a formidable presence, particularly when playing live. She blends folk, indie and alternative with an authentic grit that’s captivated audiences across Europe. An uncompromising ferocity courses through her songs; delivered with a tender, powerful voice and impenetrable stare.
Zajac’s solo work has an intense beauty but she also performs with powerful backing of her full band including Eleanor Mason (Voka Gentle, Paolo Nutini, Billie Marten) & Joe Taylor (Anna B Savage, Penelope Isles), who both feature on her highly anticipated debut album. Expect nods to solo bedroom EP, ‘Find Her in the Grass’, with darker themes accompanied by pulsating drone synths and drum builds, occasionally ascending into enraged cries and chaos.
She’s toured with LANKUM, Billy Nomates, Arab Strap, Anna B Savage, The Cinematic Orchestra, Hamish Hawk Idlewild and more.
