Niall McCabe & The Local Honeys

Sligo Live Festival presents NIALL McCABE and THE LOCAL HONEY. A double bill of sublime Americana, Bluegrass, Roots and Folk.

Having earned a reputation as one of Ireland’s finest singers and songwriters Niall McCabe has performed extensively with his Folk-Soul group The Niall McCabe Band over the past decade. Born on Clare Island, Co. Mayo, McCabe grew up in the family run pub awash with strong musical influences from traditional Irish and folk to rock and soul. It is here that Niall discovered his musical appetite and developed a style and voice that are unquestionably his own.As well as becoming an accomplished finger-style guitar player, more recently Niall has been lending his unique voice to Irish trad-fusion band Beoga, touring Ireland, Europe and the USA while also playing support for Ed Sheeran, Foy Vance, Ariel Posen and Johnny Swim. McCabe’s eagerly anticipated ‘Rituals’ album was released in February 2023 to great critical acclaim and featured as RTE Album of the Week, while the song Rituals topped the RTE Radio airplay charts for five consecutive weeks.

Many artists are defined by place, but only a handful of artists come to define the places they’re from. The Local Honeys are Kentucky and Kentucky runs through their veins like an unbridled racehorse. When a master songsmith like Tom T. Hall calls an artist “a great credit to a wonderful Kentucky tradition” it’s time to pull up a chair and pay attention. As it pertains to The Local Honeys he was right on the money. For almost a decade the duo, Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs, have been an integral part of the Kentucky musicscape.

They’ve paid their dues, garnering countless accolades and accomplishments, including tours with Tyler Childers, Colter Wall and praise from the New York Times. They have become the defining sound of real deal, honest-to-God Kentucky music. The duo have set forth on a journey to create something true to themselves while pushing the envelope within the traditions they hold dear. Carefully crafted vignettes of rural Kentucky soar above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, Grammy nominated producer and musician (Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State).