If your experience of Irish music is confined to uilleann piping in theme-pubs and the infernal River Dance, a UK appearance by Irish supergroup The Gloaming should play away your prejudices. The five-piece are connecting the reel-rich Irish folk tradition with the American contemporary music scene, and have a line-up packed with talent.
Vermont pianist Doveman, aka Thomas Bartlett, has collaborated with everyone from The National to David Byrne and Yoko Ono; Iarla Ó Lionaird is an Afro Celt Sound System singer; Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh plays the hardanger, a Norwegian fiddle; and Chicagoan guitarist Dennis Cahill and the intensely lyrical Irish-born, Seattle-based fiddler Martin Hayes are a top folk duo in their own right. Their tightly roaming, frequently explosive tunes – whether live or on their new album – are the sound of horizons broadening.