Macdara Yeates “Traditional Singing from Dublin” UK Album Launch

The Album “Traditional Singing from Dublin”, marks a new arrival on the Irish folkscape. Named in MOJO’s Top 10 Folk Albums of the Year, the ten-track effort features a rich store of old and weathered folk songs, ranging from the comic and surreal to the mournful and disconsolate. Siobhán Long of The Irish Times writes: “Raucous, bawdy, reflective and wistful in turn, Traditional Singing from Dublin is a candid, clear-eyed snapshot from a singer who is finally stepping into the spotlight.”

Macdara Yeates is an Irish folk singer. Born and raised in Dublin, Yeates is one of a crop of artists associated with the recent resurgence of young folk talent in the Irish capital, alongside acts such as Lankum, Ye Vagabonds, and Landless. In 2012, Macdara became a founding member of The Night Before Larry Got Stretched, a monthly Dublin folk gathering, counting such luminaries as Lisa O’Neill, Ian Lynch and Radie Peat (Lankum) among its earliest attendees. Then, from 2013 to 2017, Yeates served as a member of seven-piece trad ensemble Skipper’s Alley, recording and touring across the UK, Europe, India, Canada, and the USA.

With a stentorian voice described as “a bracing, baleful, baritone that sounds as if it’s been dug from the deepest, most fragrant turf” (Songlines), Macdara Yeates is ploughing his furrow as a solo performer, garnering critical praise for his solo debut (★★★★★ Songlines, ★★★★ The Irish Times) and performing on some of the most coveted stages in folk music, from An Góilín Traditional Singers’ Circle to the Sidmouth Folk Festival.