Bren Berry releases new song ahead of NCH gig
The song is the latest single from Berry's debut solo album In Hope Our Stars Align and he describes it as "a love letter to family and home and a celebration of resilience, recovery and creativity".
Speaking about the song, he says, "I wrote the song when I was recovering from coronary surgery and, while it reflects the sense of sadness and self-doubt I was feeling at the time, the overall feeling of the song is of joy and gratitude. It also shines with the sense of contentment that I felt about rediscovering music again after so many years away from it."
Berry, who played rhythm guitar for acclaimed Dublin band Revelino in the 1990s, will play the debut performance of his debut solo album with Crash Ensemble and vocal ensemble Tonnta as part of MusicTown at the NCH on 14 June.
It is also the first that he will perform live with other musicians since his former band broke up in 2001.
"I loved making my debut record and was genuinely unsure if I would ever play live but the chance to perform with The Crash Ensemble at The National Concert Hall is a pinch-me moment and a huge privilege," he says.
"They are one of Ireland's musical treasures and I cannot wait to hear what they do with the new arrangements for my songs. I really hope to live up to their incredible standards."
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Irish Examiner
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The Irish Sun
05-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘We've no call girls in Sligo' – ‘Cheapskate' music icon's shock groupie & $10k cash demands to play 80s Irish festival
CONTROVERSIAL rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry demanded a groupie at one of Ireland's earliest ever folk festivals — and got one — despite being told: 'We've no call girls in Sligo.' The Johnny B. Goode star was a veteran of 50 when the Boys of Ballisodare organisers broke the bank to lure him in 1981. 5 Chuck Berry demanded a groupie at one of Ireland's earliest ever folk festivals Credit: Sunshine International/REX/Shutterstock 5 Van Morrison headlined Lisdoonvarna in 1983 Credit: Getty Images 5 Rory Gallagher also played the festival Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns The desperation to shell out on a superstar who didn't really fit the bill was typical of the early As attendances grew and competition between organisers heated up, festivals began looking outside of Ireland for their headline acts. This development convinced Philip Flynn to shell out $17,000 on the ageing Philip said: 'Just the idea of Chuck Berry, with Johnny B. Goode and, you know, like . . . Jesus! 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Irish Times
28-06-2025
- Irish Times
The 10 best Irish albums of 2025 so far
Amble: Reverie (Warner Records/Amble Music) ★★★☆☆ Exactly how Amble have struck such a popular nerve – after less than a year, the trio are already selling out arena-size venues – with what are essentially simple folk tunes isn't a mystery: people love sincerely delivered melancholy. Lonely Island, Mariner Boy, The Boy Who Flew Away, Of Land and Sea, Little White Chapel, and Ode to John are tailor-made for heartstring-plucking singalongs. Robbie Cunningham, Oisín McCaffrey and Ross McNerney have clearly pooled their songwriting skills in a way that leans towards the balladeering side of traditional music. Fans of more disorderly takes on Irish folk – The Mary Wallopers, for example – might raise an eyebrow, but there's no denying Amble's low-key charm offensive. Bren Berry: In Hope Our Stars Align (Mercenary Records) ★★★★☆ Now in his early 60s, Bren Berry was a member of the 1990s Irish contenders Revelino, a supercharged indie-rock band that could make guitars ring and choruses chime just by thinking about them. Come the close of that decade, Berry was approached to work on a new Dublin venue by the name of Vicar Street. Waving goodbye to a career as a musician seemed inevitable, but a few years ago any resignation must have turned to rediscovery. The outcome is a 12-track solo album that takes classic guitar-centric compositions and invests them not only with life experience but also with a sleek blend of Jesus & Mary Chain, REM, Beach House and The Byrds. If there are better songs of the genre than Bullet Proof, Beautiful Losers, Turn on Your Radio and Winter Song, then we haven't heard them yet. [ New Irish albums reviewed and rated: Paddy Hanna, Lullahush, Cushla, Maria Somerville and Danny Groenland Opens in new window ] Curtisy: Beauty in the Beast (Brook Records) ★★★★☆ Building on the promise of What Was the Question, his debut album, from 2024, Curtisy – aka Gavin Curtis – returns with a collaborative mixtape that veers into more sombre narrative territory. Once again working with the producer Hikii (aka Mark Hickey), the Tallaght rapper has created songs whose cinematic qualities are underscored by smart sampling. Curtisy also collaborates with the singer-songwriter Shiv (on Left, Right!) and his fellow Dublin wordsmith Flynn (Drive Slow), but the tone from start to finish is emphatically his. Rob de Boer: Man to You (Bridge the Gap) ★★★★★ If any album released in the past six months reflects strolling along rural footpaths with the fragrance of flowers wafting around you and the promise of a 99 with a flake at the next local shop, then it's Man to You. The musician and producer Rob de Boer – think of him as the sonic twin of blue skies and light breezes – delivers a masterclass in fusion. He brings soul, jazz and contemporary influences – plus old-school rhythms – to bear on a line-up of songs that conjure the hazy strains of John Martyn, Oscar Jerome, Nina Simone and Bill Withers. And pay attention to de Boer's lyrics, which reflect on his sexuality amid religious conservatism and society's ideas of adulthood. READ MORE Matthew Devereux: Keep Sketch (House Devil Records) ★★★☆☆ Matthew Devereux of The Pale follows up House Devil, his solo album from 2024, with a far leaner piece of work. Mostly autobiographical, it allows memories to fly across the decades. 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Repeated listens to Burning Rome unearth layer upon layer of fine-tuned soul/R&B/jazz that revels in the joys of being influenced by the likes of politically motivated artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and by earworm acts such as Steely Dan. Groenland's lyrics tackle topics such as institutional racism, social division and all manner of other inequalities. The cherry on top is the quality of the satin-smooth songs. Maria Kelly: Waiting Room (Veta Records) ★★★★☆ Maria Kelly 's follow-up to The Sum of the In-Between, her 2021 album, is 'an exploration of the roadblocks, both internally and externally, that keep us feeling powerless and take away our agency'. These barriers include the housing crisis, societal opportunities, dwindling relationships and, perhaps most crucially, Kelly's experiences of chronic pain and the Irish health system's engagement with it (hence the name of the album). 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That's How It Gets You is an open-topped summer tune par excellence, Stay Tuned is tailor-made for the next James Bond movie, Stupid Little Heart is redolent of The Smiths' best, and Home Is Not a House is a contender for the prettiest ballad of the year. On the horizon: some Irish artists with new albums to watch out for in 2025 July: Sons of Southern Ulster, Cian Ducrot, Poor Creature, The Swell Season. August: CMAT, Kingfishr, Caimin Gilmore. September: Junior Brother, Elaine Mai, The Divine Comedy, Altered Hours, Sprints. October: RuthAnne, Lowli, Beauty Sleep, J Smith.
