Strange Boy is a 1000-year-old poet channelling through the body of a young man from Limerick, combining hip hop and Irish traditional music with hard hitting, thought-provoking lyrics.
Earlier this year, he was announced as the recipient of the Liam O’Flynn Award by the National Concert Hall and the Arts Council.
Now Strange Boy plays the National Concert Hall on Saturday 7th October as part of the Tradition Now festival, which celebrates innovation in the genre.
We asked Strange Boy for his choice cultural picks...
FILM
The film I recommend would have to be A Bronx Tale; there’s a nostalgia attached to it for me because I watched it when I was younger, but the film itself is just immaculate.
MUSIC
I would urge people to listen to Scrapper Blackwell. The man was the first and in my opinion the best at what he did. He was a country blues singer from the 1930s and his story goes so well with his music. Highly recommend.
BOOK
I’m big into my Irish history (of course) so I really enjoyed Tom Barry by Meda Ryan. I think Meda’s book paints a thorough portrait of one of the most influential men in Irish history, who isn’t mentioned as much he should be, he should be spoken about with the likes of Collins or Pearse. Great book.
GIG
If you haven’t seen them live go to see The Mary Wallopers. They’re a mad bunch of Fenians and you see it when they perform, real salt of the earth heads on 'em, couldn’t recommend them enough.
ART
I was really impressed by an artist who just recently had an exhibition in Limerick. His name is Paddy Critchley - a brilliant painter and artist who has a wonderful finesse about his work.
THE NEXT BIG THING...
The next big thing will be my album that’s gonna be out next year hopefully. I’ve been working like mad tryna put the pieces together for it and I think it’ll be worth the work. Keep watch!
Strange Boy plays the National Concert Hall on Saturday 7th October as part of the Tradition Now festival - find out more here.
