Matthew Byrne

More Winter time festivals!

matthew — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:48:49 +0000

Heading down to the States next week to join Ennis for their shows at the Savannah Irish Festival in Savannah, Georgia. A few days away from Newfoundland’s grey February winter is fine by me! Shortly after that I’m doing the Newfoundland portion of the March Hare Festival – performances in St. John’s, Gander, and Corner Brook. Always an awesome time that I look forward to. As always, I’ll tweet along the way @mattbyrneNL.

In The Dead of Winter Festival!

matthew — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:41:42 +0000

I’m delighted to be performing at this year’s In The Dead of Winter Festival next weekend in Halifax, NS. I was invited last year and was all geared up to go, but stormy winter weather grounded my flight from St. John’s. That better not happen again! The festival lineup is awesome. My friends Repartee and Andrew James O’Brien are there as well….wicked! I’m closing out the Friday show at 2053 Gottingen, and doing the ‘Newfoundland Song Circle’ at The Company House on Saturday afternoon.

Home from Australia…what a time!

matthew — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:09:50 +0000

I’ve returned from an incredible trip to Australia with The Dardanelles, and now that the jet lag is wearing off I’ll post an update. We played the infamous Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland, and had a blast. Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met…and such a massive, amazing festival. We were part of a huge East Coast contingent of folk and trad acts – The Dardanelles, Ennis, The Once, Ron Hynes, Richard Wood, Duane Andrews and Dwayne Coté, and Sherman Downey and the Silver Lining – what a crew! It was a brilliant experience, and such a great feeling to bring Newfoundland tunes and songs to that part of the world. Having the crowds dancing to Rufus and Emile tunes in Australia was pretty special (and a bit surreal). Many thanks to the festival organizers for their hard work and wonderful hospitality – I can’t wait to get back again! I have a bit of down time now and then a few Winter festivals – will post more shortly. Happy New Year!

Australia Bound for Christmas!

matthew — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:46:40 +0000

Hello everyone, and Happy Holidays! Sorry I’m so late posting this time around, but I’ve been crazy busy for the past few weeks. Just finished a wonderful 3 weeks tour around Newfoundland with Ennis. Fantastic shows, wonderful people, loads of fun! I’m home for a week now a then off to Australia on Christmas Day with The Dardanelles. How cool is that! Australia! We’re playing the infamous Woodford Folk Festival in Brisbane and we cannot wait. We’re part of a massive contingent of Newfoundlanders heading down – The Once, Ron Hynes, Ennis, and Sherman Downey. What a time to be had! I’ll be sure to tweet throughout my travels. Have a safe and happy holiday – bye for now!

Joining Ennis for Christmas Tour!

matthew — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:13:36 +0000

I’m delighted to be joining Ennis this year for their annual Christmas tour. I’ll be playing bouzouki, a bit of guitar, and they might get a song out of me as well. The tour will bring us to beautiful churches all over Newfoundland – check out the Ennis Facebook page for all of the stops, and come say hello if your at the shows. Tis almost the season!

The Dardanelles CD Release on November 17!

matthew — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:36:57 +0000

Very excited to announce that The Dardanelles’ brand new album, ‘The Eastern Light, will be released on November 17th at Rocket Room in St. John’s. We brought in traditional guitar master John Doyle for a few weeks in June to make this record, and we’re so proud of the result. We hope you’ll join us at The Rocket Room as we celebrate the release. Our friends Jody Richardson and Dave Rowe will do an opening set at 8:00, then we take to the stage to debut the new record in full. Click here for the Facebook event page, and check out www.thedardanelles.com. Hope to see you there! In the meantime, here’s a preview track from the album. Enjoy!

The Dardanelles – McCarthy’s Double Share | Download

My Interview for The Performance Hour on CBC

matthew — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:24:27 +0000

Hello friends! I recently did an interview with CBC’s Jamie Fitzpatrick for The Performance Hour. We chatted about songs and traditional singing, and I performed a few as well. It will be aired this Saturday on Radio 2 at 10:30am, and Radio 1 at 5:35pm. Click here for full details and a video.

Winnipeg, Bruce Molsky, and more!

matthew — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:08:27 +0000

Hello friends! I’ve come to the end of an absolutely wonderful Summer. So many memorable shows, both solo and with The Dardanelles. Very excited about the Fall…several things booked already, and more to come. I’m delighted to be opening for Bruce Molsky at Gower Street United Church in St. John’s on September 17th. Bruce is an incredible old-time Appalachian musician who I first came to know through the Transatlantic Sessions a few years back. It’ll be a great evening. After that, I’m off to the Winnipeg Irish Festival with The Dardanelles. We’ll be doing a concert and several workshops – check out their website for full schedule. All upcoming performances are found on the ‘Shows’ page, so don’t be a stranger!

A brilliant NL Folk Fest…Woody Point this weekend!

matthew — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:53:35 +0000

My compliments to the NL Folk Arts Society for pulling out an amazing festival, in spite of moving indoors to Mile One Center due to wind and rain. It was a fantastic weekend…many magical moments. Workshops were brilliant and my set with The Dardanelles was so much fun! Pretty cool to bring The Ship to Mile One! This weekend I’m off to the Woody Point Writers Festival with The Dards…we’re performing both Friday and Saturday night. My first time at this wonderful festival, really looking forward to it. You can also catch me on Thursday night with several other wonderful musicians as we help launch Pam Morgan’s book of piano music for Newfoundland ballads. Check out all the details here!

Can’t wait for Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival this weekend!

matthew — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:58:35 +0000

I don’t think I’ve missed one yet! This weekend is the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival at Bannerman Park in St. John’s. The lineup is pretty amazing and I’m thrilled to be part of it, both solo and with The Dardanelles. The Dards’ set is second last on Saturday night, and I’ll be doing a traditional song workshop on Sunday morning. Click here for full schedule. It’s a weekend of amazing music and great friends – can’t wait!