Day: Sunday

 

UTSf stages are no stranger to multi-talented Irish musician and singer Damien O’Kane. Having performed with Kate Rusby (also his wife), in his innovative banjo-crossover show with California’s Ron Block, the memorable O’Kane family band appearance and many more, he’s very much engrained in the DNA of UTSf! Steeped in traditional Irish music, Damien grew up in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Touring the world with his very own family band, he developed a deep respect and understanding of the folk tradition but also forged a healthy appetite to explore its broadest borders and test its boundaries. Described by Jo Whiley of BBC Radio 2 as a ‘sonic architect,’ Damien has twice been nominated at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. His radical and revelatory approach to his music have earned him credit as “one of the most vital talents in modern folk music” (fRoots magazine). Renowned for his warm and emotive, Northern Irish brogue and his exhilarating banjo mastery, O’Kane is a highly rated and skilled composer, producer, researcher, bandleader and a musician of rich imagination and fearless vision.