Experimentation and evolution are essential to music, says Hayes, who doesn’t miss the days of career-long contracts with labels

‘The building looks imposing, officious. Getting people in the door is a big thing’

In the run-up to St Patrick's Day, Irish Times writers select the acts that represent modern Irishness

Stephen Rea, Loudon Wainwright III and Christian Blackshaw are among the highlights

The Dublin festival offers a raft of superb musicians who happen to be female. They are determined to make their mark in a male-dominated field

The five virtuosos of The Gloaming can afford to be choosy about how, and where, they play their transcendental blend of trad, jazz, rock and classical music

Gathering Traditional Festival, Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh and St Vincent at the Olympia

The quintet’s music isn’t traditional, nor is it classical: it’s contemporary music that insinuates itself within the subconscious, and it’s very exciting. There is no master plan, they say, ahead of the release of their debut album

After a long musical journey, the fiddler Martin Hayes finds inspiration in everything from Bach to Arvo Pärt and Sigur Rós

LAPD – aka Liam O’Flynn, Andy Irvine, Paddy Glackin, Donal Lunny – are charming a whole new generation, and breathing fresh life into traditional music