Album Notes

Up and coming Rock/Blues guitarist and vocalist, Grainne Duffy has just began promoting her debut album ‘Out of the Dark’. Aside from receiving a degree in music in NUI, Maynooth, she also has been gigging constantly, as both lead guitarist and vocalist, doing session work which has seen her tour Italy, Sicily and France. She also joined Blues rock quartet Shanco featuring ex-Bagatelle drummer Wally Mc Conville, ex-Thin az Lizzy front man John Conlon and son of Gloria Smyth, Paul Sherry. With this band she has threaded the boards of many of the country’s leading venue’s and of recent the Warrenpoint Blues Festival headlined by Van Morrison.

All of which has lead to the development of herself as an artist writing her own material and the beginning of her solo career marked by the recording of her debut album which features ten of her original songs and two completely individual takes of classics, Thrill is Gone and Rather Go Blind. Joining Grainne on lead guitar and vocals on her debut album is the magical Ronnie O Flynn on bass and drums of Sharon Shannon Band and Donal Lunny, Richard Nelson on lap and pedal steel and dobro, previously of the Van Morrison Band, John Mc Cullagh on piano and the very talented Paul Sherry on rhythm guitar. Listening to her debut, it is hard not to acknowledge the many influences in her singing, guitar playing and especially her song writing such as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, The Stones and even Bob Dylan.
Grainne recently has received, at the Irish Steel Guitar festival, an endorsement from the leading English guitar case company Scot Dixon, who witnessed for themselves this talent, which they believe is worth investing in as a name to watch for the close future. She has just launched her new album in The Irish Blues Club, J.J. Smyths’s, to rave reviews followed by a show stopping solo acoustic support to America guitarist Shawn Jones as a warm up to the Guinness Blues Festival. Currently continuing her heavy promotion of her stunning debut through radio and magazine interviews and most importantly for Grainne the heart of the whole experience; live gigs, she already has penned new material for her follow up album. This is an artist true to her music and not afraid of the hard work and dedication it all involves. Just take a listen and see for yourself what everyone is talking about!