Ahead of joining Paul Brady on his Irish tour, singer/songwriter Davie Furey who will release his new single Stargazer on Friday, April 7, has told LaoisToday of his love for Durrow, where he is based.
“Both my parents are from Durrow and I have lots of family around there. My uncle, Bob, owns Bob’s Bar in the town. Myself and my cousin, Robbie Campion, who is in the ballad group, Drops of Green, run the music venue, Bob’s Hideout there,” he said.
“Recently, we had Luka Bloom, Mary Coughlan and Gemma Hayes there. Eleanor McEvoy is playing this month and Liam O Maonlai is coming in June,” Davie said.
“I love the country life of Durrow, the landscape and being close to my family. I received my education in live performances playing in pubs around Laois many moons ago. Finding my voice, learning songs of different characters, dealing with people,” he said.
“I think venues have improved over the years in Laois with the Dunamaise Arts Centre, Kavanaghs, the Mountmellick Arts Centre and of course, Bob’s Hideout.
“I would love to see venues giving younger singer songwriters a chance to explore and promote their work,” said Davie.
His new single Stargazer is produced, mixed and mastered by Martin Quinn in JAM Studios.
It is Davie’s third single taken from a collection of songs being recorded for a new album which is set for release in September.
“I am currently working on dates for a tour around then, so there may be a Laois gig,” he said.
Previous releases, Downtown Parade reached number two in the iTunes rock charts in 2022, and History got to number one on the iTunes rock charts earlier in 2022.
Stargazer includes the vocals of Navan singer/songwriter, Joy Booth. History was initially written for his friend, boxer Michael Conlon former Olympian.
“It’s funny how songs show themselves only when they are ready, “Davie said.
“I came across the lyrics for Stargazer while going through my old song writing notes. Clearly the song is a bit of recluse but it felt ready to show itself to those who would listen now. We reconnected. I gave it a little bit of pampering and here we are.”
The Paul Brady tour doesn’t include a Laois date but it does include the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone on Saturday, April 15.
“For Paul to offer me his stage is a great honour. I’m truly grateful for the chance to be able to share my songs with his audience,” Davie said.
His influences, he said, vary greatly. “I just love a good song, a song that I can connect with. Over the years I’ve been influenced by Dolores Keane, Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Mike Scott and the Waterboys, REM, Pearl Jam, Andrea Bocelli among many many others. It’s really all in the delivery of a song.
“Like when Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash deliver a song you can really feel that they have lived the song. I find some of the stuff today, particularly in pop, very bland and boring. A lot of it sounds the same to me.
“It’s a challenging environment to be working in as there is huge competition and I would love to see Irish radio support Irish artists much more. There are some excellent broadcasters who do their best but a lot of the time their hands are tied regarding which songs they are allowed to play,” he said.
“Nevertheless there is no feeling quite like connecting with an audience through a song so I’m really looking forward to the dates with Paul Brady and hopefully a few people out there will connect with Stargazer.”
More information is on: www.daviefurey.com
