Two Folkies Beat As One

Ahead of their April 12th show, Kieran Goss and Annie Kinsella reveal their musical roots…

When pointing out that Kieran Goss and Annie Kinsella are both gifted singers, Time Out was right on the honey when they opined that every time the Sligo duo come together in perfect harmony, ‘magic happens’.

It’s a magic that has seen their debut album, Oh, The Starlings, become one of the most acclaimed folk albums to come out of Ireland in recent years.

And it’s an album that has taken the loved-up songbirds around the world, from New York (where the album was recorded with noted engineer and mixer Kevin Killen) through Europe, Asia and all the way back around to little ol’ Ireland. With Greystones joining that XXXL tour t-shirt list on April 12th when Goss and Kinsella take over The Whale stage.

Before the big night though, we asked the duo where the music came from growing up…

Kieran: Growing up in a big family I was surrounded by all sorts of music. My father was listening to and playing traditional Irish music and ballads. My mother was a big fan of what’s now called The American Songbook – so, Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, that kind of thing.
Then my older brothers and sisters started bringing albums from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones into the house when I was young. My older brother Joe was a big fan of country music – Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash in particular – so, I was hearing that too.
Once I got my first guitar, I started trying to play what I was hearing, so that was the beginning of getting into music for me.

Annie: Like most kids of my generation, I grew watching Top of the Pops, MTV USA with Vincent Hanley and then MTV. Long before streaming and ‘all you can eat’ music existed, I was getting into music from listening to the radio. I got a little blue plastic transistor radio for Christmas one year and I used to listen to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 on that and Radio Luxembourg under the duvet with the radio pressed to my ear when I was supposed to be sleeping!

My parents weren’t particularly into music, but my older sister and brother were, so their records had a big influence on me: James Taylor and The Police were in my sister’s collection. My brother was listening to Tower of Power and Little Feat. I loved it all – deconstructed it – read all the liner notes and wondered who these people in the credits were back in the days before you could investigate that kind of thing online.

After my Dad died, my mother moved us across the country to Dublin, just as I was approaching my teens, and I started getting involved in bands as a singer.

At that time in Dublin, U2 were a huge inspiration and everyone seemed to be in a band.

I started singing back then and haven’t stopped since.

Kieran Goss & Annie Kinsella play The Whale on Friday, April 12th – tickets here: https://whaletheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873638610/events/128479186