Women's Voice in Westport

Left, Lorna Henry; centre, Una McCann; right, Ciara Butcher

Uri Kohen reports from Westport, Co. Mayo, on the most recent Electric Cave Production show at Geraghty's:

When I was searching for bands for the 2010 Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, I came upon an all-women band from Northern Ireland called Wookalily. At the time they had no recorded material, so I was asking around to see what the views about them were.

My first port of call was Lorna from the Henry Girls; as I'm a big fan of her music, I knew I could trust her opinion. Lorna told me then that everything that Una McCann is involved with has to be great, as she is one of the most talented singer songwriters that she knows. When Ciara Butcher, formerly guitarist with Wookalily rang to tell me that herself, Una, and Lorna formed a new trio, I was over the moon.

They came to Westport last Saturday (12.2.2011) and played a fantastic gig. The show included mainly Una's beautiful songs about her life experiences, as well as some classic covers from Neil Young and The Band. They moved from pure folk to some more bluesy songs with two guitars, accordion, and their own beautiful voices in perfect harmonies. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tommy Lyons from Balla, who invited the girls for a show in his own town the following Sunday. A great night was had by all!