Michelle Burke - Hey Mama - Navan - The Band Wagon Tv - 2nd June 2011

After honing her craft as lead vocalist with Irish/American super group Cherish the Ladies, Michelle is now embarking on a solo career with the unveiling of her debut solo album 'pulling threads' a stunningly assured collection of classic ballads and lesser-known gems, produced by the award-winning fiddler and composer Aidan O'Rourke (Lau/Blazin' Fiddles). Full of atmospheric, subtly sophisticated arrangements involving a stellar array of guests, including Kris Drever, karine Polwart, Martin Green and James Ross, it vibrantly highlights the rich stylistic and expressive breadth of Burke's singing.

Although based in Edinburgh since 2002, honing her craft in the thick of today's dynamic Scottish folk scene, Burke hails originally from rural East Cork, where she grew up in a music-loving household. Michelle studied music at University College Cork; where she earned a B/Mus and went on to earn an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance at the Irish World Music Centre at Limerick University in 2001 as the first singer to graduate from Michael O Suilleabhain's course.

Michelle signed up as lead-singer with Cherish the Ladies in April 2008 and spent two years traveling with the long-established and illustrious outfit. During her time with the Ladies Michelle toured extensively singing to crowds of thousands across North America, Alaska, Canada and Europe and sang on their critically acclaimed album 'A Star In The East'. Alongside performing in art centers and at folk festivals Burke has performed with The Colorado Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Grand Junction Symphony, Lynchburgh Syracuse Symphony, Austin Symphony and Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

Michelle has toured and shared the stage with Maura o' Connell, Liz Caroll and John Doyle as part of The Irish Homecoming Show with Cherish The Ladies.
'Pulling Threads' focuses on the work of contemporary songwriters apart from Burke's haunting version of the traditional ballad 'Molly Bawn', which opens the album. With such diverse choices as Bob Dylan's 'I Shall Be Released', Andy M. Stewart's 'Where Are You Tonight, I Wonder?' and Tom Waits's 'Broken Bicycles' highlighting the range of Burke's tastes and artistry. She also dips into Americana territory, with Chris Stuart's 'Springhill Mine' and Gary Burr's 'I Would Be Stronger Than That' -- the latter previously covered by Faith Hill and Maura O'Connell --alongside two tracks by cult Edinburgh songwriter Sandy Wright, on whose own forthcoming album Burke also features.

She draws on her love of jazz to telling effect in Fran Landesman's 'Ballad of the Sad Young Men', and closes with an artlessly new-minted rendition of 'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen', minimally backed by Drever's guitar.
With other instrumentation including piano, fiddle, cello, accordion, double bass and percussion, arrangements elsewhere vary in style from classical-style lyricism to edgy nu-folk, torch-song intensity to polished acoustic pop, united by Burke's timelessly expressive, exquisitely nuanced voice.

"There are loads of different strands on the album -- that's what the title's about," she says. "With it being my first album, I wanted to try and pull together as many of my influences and ideas as I could, and the types of songs I love singing, because they're all different facets of me -- of who I am as a singer." Burke's many-sided musical identity might resist easy categorisation, but it certainly makes for magical listening

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[macbocsa]

Great stuff Bird!

[nonbelievershane]

Go on the BIRD!!!!!