With her staggering vocals and songwriting prowess, folk artist Lisa O’Neill is far along the path to brilliance, says Miriam Balanescu
You may recognise Lisa O’Neill’s recordings – especially from their prominence on hit show Peaky Blinders – but if you catch her live, you’ll soon see why this artist is best appreciated on the stage. In fact, O’Neill’s presence performing live is immediately striking and, when she begins to sing, her voice is genuinely breathtaking.
Dusky and decadent, O’Neill’s vocals bind together gorgeously written compositions telling human stories in a traditional folk vein. Think somewhere between Édith Piaf-fierce vocals and Bob Dylan-esque storytelling. The Ballyhaise-hailer turned Dubliner opens her set with a cover of The Galway Shawl, but it’s her originals that truly shine.
A pair of songs about her experience of parachuting from a plane are a startlingly intimate, honest and emotional follow-up. Other original folk gems include Blackbird, a blistering, open wound of a song. O’Neill deftly crafts a moody, murky atmospheric soundscape, with brooding lyrics and pared back instrumentals.
O’Neill’s later songs tell tales of Irish dock workers out of a job or Violet Gibson – the little-known Irish woman who, in 1926, nearly put a bullet in Mussolini. The folk artist also shares a glimpse into her upcoming album, with further paeans to admirable women and reflections on restrictive sex education in Ireland and its impact.
The support for this evening is formidable concertina player Cormac Begley, who paints engrossing sonic textures with his various instruments of contrasting ranges. His introductory set is irresistibly toe-tapping, but when he joins forces with O’Neill, the duo complement and enrich each other’s sound.
These deceptively simple ballads and ditties are a cut above the rest of the folk scene. Finishing with her instantly recognisable cover of Dylan’s All the Tired Horses – which soundtracked the last ever scene of cult show Peaky Blinders – a thundering, deeply stirring number, O’Neill hits home why she continues to be a stand-out artist.
