MUSIC: A sweet Dublin date for a gritty singer

WITH gritty sonic depth, Irish songwriter Marc O’Reilly belts out his songs that swing from quiet reflection to sheer riotous joy.

Marc has released two critically acclaimed albums to date, ‘Human Herdings’ and ‘My Friend Marx’ and has established himself as one of the most exciting artists within the folk/blues genre gaining comparisons with artists such as John Martyn and Bon Iver.

Marc has toured all over Europe and has made several appearances at major festivals like Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Beautiful Days, Boardmasters, Shambala and Dranouter.

He has also played in the US, appearing at the Live in the Vineyard Festival in Napa, California.

His alter-ego side project with his brother Pierre, the electro-pop duo ‘R’, recently received excellent radio support for their debut single ‘Change’ from tastemakers such as Steve Lamacq (BBC 6music), Janice Long (BBC Radio 2) and Paul Mcloone (Today FM) and reached Number 1 on the Amazing Radio Chart.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Marc has also provided vocals on three tracks for the new album by MOBO winning act Karios 4tet which was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios.

This has received four-star reviews from Mojo, The Independent and the Guardian and has led to the recording of a live BBC Maida Vale session for the Jamie Cullum Show on BBC Radio 2.

Critics have been falling over themselves to praise the young man with Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2) describing him as a “spectacular talent”.

Catch him at the Sugar Club when he takes the stage at the Dublin venue on Thursday, May 4.