Well before I say or do anything else, I want to send some very heart-felt thanks to everyone who came out to my show at the LSPU Hall. My first Hall show went brilliantly, and I’m grateful to all who shared the evening with me. There was a great feeling in the room, and I can’t wait to do it again! It was recorded by the CBC Mobile Unit for The Performance Hour and Canada Live, so I’ll be sure to post and tweet once I know when it airs.

I’m currently gearing up for some really exciting summer gigs with The Dardanelles. We’re playing the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival, which is going to be wicked. We’re also doing a tour across the island in August and we cannot wait. Starting on the West Coast and working our way East….so if you’re twackin’ around Newfoundland between August 17-26, check us out! I’ll post the dates on the Shows page. In the meantime, all Dards details can be found on the website.

In preparation for my show at the legendary LSPU Hall in St. John’s, I spoke with both The Independent and The Telegram about my musical lineage, The Dardanelles, my album, and of course the show! Here are the articles:

Ballads in the Hall – Ryan Belbin

Inheriting a Choice: To Sing or Not to Sing? – Justin Brake

Hello friends! I’m delighted to announce that I’m doing a concert on May 31st at the beautiful LSPU Hall in St. John’s. It will be an intimate evening of traditional music – solo performances as well as songs arranged with some brilliant trad players. I’ll also be joined by a couple of very special guests. Gonna be a wonderful evening….tell a friend! Click here for the Facebook event.

Tickets on sale Monday, April 30th

Hello friends. I am delighted to once again be performing at The March Hare Festival of Words & Music. This year, I will join the travelling festival in St. John’s and follow it to Gander, then on to Corner Brook for the big weekend. Check out the Hare website for full program details. I’ll tweet along the way, and if you’re at either of the shows please come say hello! In the meantime, I’ve just joined the CBCmusic.ca community with my own artist page. Check it out here and share it on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever your little heart desires.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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