Jamie Smith’s MABON - Peel Centenary Centre
10th September, 8:00pm
For a band from Wales, there’s always been a lot of Manx connections about Jamie Smith’s MABON - but their concert this week at Peel Centenary Centre marks a new, more Manx moment than ever in their journey!
Since they last packed out the venue in 2014, their accordionist and composer Jamie Smith has moved to Peel, settling in his wife’s hometown with their young family. Seeing as he works worldwide as a full-time musician, that does have its logistical challenges - but the island lifestyle and the circle of Manx family and friends were too big a draw to resist!
At the same time, the band has recruited a new guitarist: Paul Rogers is a Welshman who beat Jamie to Manx Resident status by several years, and is a well-established figure on the traditional music scene here. Fluent in his own native Welsh and his adopted Manx Gaelic, and able to draw on the musical traditions of both nations, he takes over from Adam Rhodes, who was the band’s Manx bouzouki player for the last five years.
Mabon have been all over the world since their last visit: from windy Scottish Islands to the sweltering heat of Borneo’s Rainforest Festival, and hundreds of concerts and festivals in between - most recently touring their new album ‘The Space Between’.
Peel Centenary Centre will be a cosy, intimate setting for their return, where they will air the newest tunes and songs in their uplifting style of original, InterCeltic music. It’ll be as much of a homecoming party as a band from away could have on the Isle of Man!
Joyous jigs and driving reels; Russian bears and Galician percussion; haunting love songs and tripping, sing-along epics - you’ll hear it all as Mabon take you with them on a musical journey.
“If music could fuel engines, Mabon could solve the energy crisis” - Songlines
“A truly compulsive ride” - The Independent
“A fearsome reputation as a live band…stratospheric” - Financial Times
Tickets ?13.50 in advance and ?15.00 on the door (subject to availability). Available from: Celtic Gold, Peel; Shakti Man, Ramsey; Noa Bakehouse, Douglas; Thompson Travel, Port Erin.
www.jamiesmithsmabon.com
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