Madra Salach joins Mike Vasilikos for a strum and chat ahead of first U.S. gig at Johnny Brenda’s
Madra Salach – 11.4.26
archived shows
Modern Irish folk band Madra Salach is in the states for their first-ever U.S. tour, and their inaugural show is Wednesday night at Johnny Brenda’s. The band stopped by WXPN to chat with Mike Vasilikos ahead of the show, and they played some music live on the air.
We first introduced you to the six-piece outfit during World Cafe’s Sense of Place: Dublin—the band’s hometown. Host Raina Douris called their performance for the series one of the most powerful she’s seen. Now they’re stateside for a six-date run; they’ll jump up to Toronto before heading back to Europe.
“There’s a huge Irish folk revival going on in Ireland,” vocalist Paul Banks told Vasilikos on Wednesday’s Midday Show.
Banks, guitarist Adam Cullen, multi instrumentalist Jack Martin, harmonium player Maxime Arnold, drummer Dara Duffy, and bassist Jack Lawlor got together to explore the revival.
”It was kind of like, ‘Oh, why don’t we give this a try,'” Banks said. “We were going to take old labor songs and old folk songs and then kind of put tape loops over them and make them atmospheric.”
Their other tastes started finding their way into that, and now they’re writing ”this godless music,” he said laughing.
They played “ Ribbon Factory,” which will be featured on Gorta—their first full-length album and translates to “hunger” in Gaeilge—out Jan. 15, 2027.
Listen to their interview with Vasilikos and “Ribbon Factory” in the player above.
