With her stunning 2024 release Come As You Are, Niamh Regan has cemented herself as one of Ireland’s most distinctive songwriters. Nominated for the RTÉ Choice Prize for Irish Album of the Year, Come As You Are is a masterwork of intimate storytelling, rich arrangements, and unflinching emotional honesty. The album marks a bold evolution from her debut Hemet (2020), which garnered nominations for the RTÉ Folk Awards and the Choice Music Prize.
Come As You Are, produced by Tommy McLaughlin at Attica Studios, is an album full of vulnerability and unflinching introspection. As the title suggests, it invites listeners to embrace their true selves, confronting personal doubts, complicated relationships, and questions about life’s direction. Each track is a delicate balance of delicate folk instrumentation and expansive soundscapes.
Niamh Regan first caught the attention of listeners with her 2020 debut Hemet, a strikingly collection that showcased her gift for penning folk-tinged songs with emotional depth and reflective sincerity. That album paved the way for a whirlwind of performances across Ireland, the UK, Australia, and beyond. Opening for artists such as CMAT, Villagers, John Grant, SOAK, Patrick Watson, James Vincent McMorrow and Sam Amidon, Regan honed her live performance chops and began to embrace the joy and catharsis of sharing her music with a wider audience.
With Come As You Are, Regan’s vision grew. She sought to create a richer, more expansive sound, inspired by artists like Julia Jacklin, Caroline Rose and Wilco. The result is an album that feels both intimate and cinematic. Niamh Regan has always been a storyteller at heart, and Come As You Are proves that her voice, both literal and musical, is one that demands attention.
With Come As You Are now available worldwide and the RTÉ Choice Prize nomination in the mix, 2025 is poised to be a banner year for Niamh Regan. Niamh continues to evolve as an artist, and there’s much more to come.
Other recent notable releases include We Didn’t Know We Were Ready, a song co-written and performed by Ólafur Arnalds, Talos, Niamh Regan and Ye Vagabonds.
Local support comes from Séamus Óg. Séamus Óg is a boundary-pushing Irish musician from Carrickfergus whose roots in traditional music, storytelling, and island life shape a sound both timeless and strikingly original. Bursting onto the Manchester folk scene with his albums Best Masala Tea and Terry’s Síbín, Séamus has gone on to share stages with the likes of Brìghde Chaimbeul, Chris Brain, Ríoghnach Connolly, and Mikey Kenney.
His most recent release, Haul The Pots (out 2 May), has already earned multiple features and critical acclaim, further cementing his reputation as a distinctive new voice in contemporary folk. A key part of that voice is his rare and self-adapted instrument, the cittern, with shimmering tones, lend his music a hypnotic, otherworldly quality. Supported by BBC, RTÉ, Celtic FM, and Radio Fáilte, Séamus crafts rich, harmony-laden songs that draw listeners into a dreamlike world — where tales of land, love, and longing unfold with quiet power and poetic charm.
Price: £14 adv
Info/tickets:
https://www.heymanchester.com/niamh-regan
You may also like the following events from Hey! Manchester:
- Next Thursday, 19th June, 07:30 pm, Basia Bulat + Bryde / YES Basement, Manchester / Thu 19 Jun in Manchester
- Next Thursday, 19th June, 07:30 pm, AVAWAVES / Gullivers, Manchester / Thu 19 Jun in Manchester
- Next month, 4th July, 07:00 pm, Beans on Toast / The Strines Nightingale, near Stockport / Fri 4 Jul in Stockport
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