SPECTRUM: Evan Parker & Paul G. Smyth

Standard Weekend Festival Pass €38 Available HERE

Our final SPECTRUM live performance comes from acclaimed Irish pianist Paul G. Smyth in a thrilling duo collaboration with one of the greatest saxophonists alive, Evan Parker. This collaboration between two world class creative forces is a truly exciting prospect for any fan of progressive music. The duo will be supported by a solo act from Irish folk guitarist Cian Nugent.

Evan Parker (UK) has been responsible for pushing the saxophone into uncharted waters since his emergence in the late 1960s. As a lynchpin of the European free improvisation scene, Parker played on landmark recordings such as the Spontaneous Music Ensemble’s Karyobin and Peter Brötzmann’s Machine Gun (both 1968), and founded the Incus label with Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley in 1970.In addition to his collaborations with numerous figures in the worlds of jazz and improv, Parker has worked with the likes of Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker, Spiritualized and drum & bass duo Spring Heel Jack.

For the last 20 years, pianist Paul G. Smyth has been carving a unique furrow in Ireland’s cultural landscape. Parallel to his involvement with The Jimmy Cake (described by the Irish Times as “the most powerful musical force in Ireland”), Smyth has also set himself apart as a singular voice in Europe’s vigorous improvised music scene.

“Considerable gifts as an improvisor ... a genuinely cathartic listening experience ... such fuck-you intensity” - The Wire

Support:Cian Nugent (solo)

Cian Nugent has by common consent proved himself a master of sinewy textured guitar playing and immersive instrumentation on a par with avant-folk heroes John Fahey, Jim O’Rourke and Jack Rose. Early last year the accomplished folk guitarist, who is well known for his intricate extended compositions, released his third album Night Fiction. Featuring a collection of songs with a new emphasis on vocals, the album builds on Nugent’s previous work, nodding to his diverse influences, with the strong support of his long-standing band members.

“Irish guitarist Cian Nugent sounds as if he has entirely absorbed the prescient, droney traditionalism of American guitarists in the 1960s like John Fahey and Sandy Bull, but takes it forward into his own hybridized areas: chamber music, jazz, psychedelia, bluegrass, and what people who used to visit record stores might call postrock [...] Highly accomplished" -New York Times