Trio’s tour will be best of basics

FINGLAS singer-songwriter Ian N Brennan is about to set off on an ambitious three-week tour of Ireland, showcasing his acoustic music along with Monaghan musician Barry Jay Hughes and fellow Dubliner Greg Clifford.

The Back to Basics Tour will take the trio up and down the country for three weeks, starting this month in Slane and with the final date in Dublin’s Grand Social on March 11.

The 15-plus gigs lined up will focus on pared back, honest, and intimate acoustic sets with a DIY feel.

Finglas local Ian, who’s currently working on his first album, says he couldn’t have done a tour like this alone, so he asked Greg, a long-time friend, if he’d be interested in teaming up and pooling their contacts to cover the whole island.

“I thought, why don’t we just get a three-man tour going, something nobody really is doing, just three singer songwriters,” he told Northside People.

“There’ll be no headliners, no main star, just three lads with music going around the country, going back to basics and what it’s all about.”

The final member of the tour was Barry, who Ian met more recently at a festival and was blown away by his performance. 

All three are working on upcoming albums; Ian’s should be out by the end of the summer. He released his debut EP last March and says it was well-received and led to two sold out shows. 

“If that happens with the album again, it’ll be brilliant,” he added.

 He’ll also be supporting Mary Coughlan later in the year and playing a few gigs of his own.  But he says this tour is something different. 

“I’ve been doing music for ten years and this is the first time I’ve seen a three-man singer songwriter tour.”

Ian says the fact their tour is unusual has helped them gain a lot of press and publicity, at a time when singer-songwriters can struggle to get attention because of the sheer amount – and quality- of music in Dublin. “The tour will be hard work- but it’s exciting.

“I can’t wait to get going, but at the same time I’m dreading it – I’m the driver”, says Ian, laughing.

Tickets for the Dublin event are on sale from Eventbrite, and the full list of venues outside the capital can be seen on the musicians’ Facebook pages.

REPORT: Ciara del Grosso Bates