It’s always good to see something new, so when Rowan Leslie, an Irish fiddle player and composer from Ballymena (rural Co. Antrim), came to Leeds for the first time, it seemed worth a trip out of the house.
Rowan’s current trio includes easy going accordion player, Paddy Callaghan, and Scottish border guitar player, vocalist, and long term collaborator, Graeme Armstrong. Instead of coming to the Irish Centre, the Grove Inn or another venue well known to local folk audiences, they were playing at The Attic – a fairly new event space just outside the City Centre near the old Tetley brewery.
When the trio took to the stage in patterned short-sleeved shirts, Nike and Converse trainers and settled themselves in front of a selection of effects pedals, they looked very comfortable with themselves, each other and the music they were about to perform. I was braced for how radical the “Rad Trad” tour could be, as I knew nothing about the band before walking through the door, but seeing that chairs were set out for the audience, I felt ready to slouch into my seat with a rum and coke. At least ten years of original material swept over me in a set weaving recent and centuries-old tunes from across Ireland, Scotland and beyond.
Wherever you discovered a love of Irish folk music: perhaps this began in your family or local community or something rebellious like the anarchic Celtic punk; maybe it crept up on you through the soundtrack to a film like Lord of the Rings or that Irish themed pub where you always felt welcome, or you just appreciate the musicianship and culture… well, the trio had something for you. Fast-paced tunes that had the feel of the Pogues’ Wild Cats of Kilkenny, stories that transported you across the United Kingdom and for one evening, the creation of a lively and timeless place.
Rowan also tempted the parasocial impulse to feel like you had known him forever with a short interlude every so often, sharing stories behind the songs – with a hello to his mum in the audience – and name checks of many influences along the way. Beyond this, the trio put you at ease, with Paddy maintaining a warm smile throughout their performance and and Rowan regularly engaged in an ongoing, musical back and forth that kept your attention on the stage and evidenced their skill.
The Rowan Leslie Trio were surprisingly energised, given that this was the final date of a five-night tour which had travelled from Glasgow (Rowan’s current home) to Bristol with stops inthe Cotswolds and Glossop, where they had shared music dedicated to spaniels, sons, dads, pubs and railways. Acknowledging origins of the music, the people who made the tunes famous; songs, like The Isle of France, sung across centuries; jigs that made your legs move, like The One That Was Lost by Paddy O’Brien from Co. Tipperary.
“I don’t have a life outside of music… I genuinely don’t.”
Paddy Callaghan
Talking to the band afterwards, they described lives steeped in the music they had played that night, that Graeme’s future wife plays. Lives with music at their heart.
Sometimes, when seeing a much loved musical act, you can get the feeling the musicians are ‘going through the motions’, with music without heart played to fulfil an obligation, to work out of debt, to escape from a difficult situation or to continue a pattern or routine that has lost meaning. This trio is a reminder of what is possible when you are immersed in music, a reminder of the infectious joy in playing and of the existence of venues where you are never quite sure what you will see.
Learn more about The Rowan Leslie Trio here.
Learn more about The Attic here.
Photography by Geraldine Montgomerie.
