24 July 2023 - 0 Comments

A highlight on the traditional Irish music scene from 2001 - 2011, Trad group Gráda are reuniting in 2023 with a 9 date tour across New Zealand. The tour will begin in Wellington on the 18th October before the group head to New Plymouth, Hamilton, Auckland Kerikeri, Tauranga, Hastings, Nelson and Lower Hutt.

With members from both Ireland and New Zealand, Gráda spent much of their time touring internationally, performing in over 1000 cities in 30 countries over the course of a decade. New Zealanders Gerry Paul & Andrew Laking and Irish musicians Nicola Joyce, Alan Doherty and Tola Custy make up the group’s current form. Previous highlights include concerts at the Sydney Opera House, Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, Ireland’s National Concert Hall and headline performances at multiple European and American folk festivals. Gráda’s most recent album Natural Angle was voted as one of the top folk albums in the USA by NPR / Folk Alley and the IMA music awards. Their previous album, Cloudy Day Navigation appeared multiple times in Irish Music's Top 10 charts. Gráda has received glowing reviews from Irish Music Magazine, Sing Out!, The Washington Post, The Irish Times, The Evening Herald (Ireland), the Event Guide (Dublin), and more.

In 2011, Gráda disbanded to work on individual projects. This saw the members involved in various ventures including musical groups The Whileaways, ALDOC, and T-Bone; solo albums; collaborations with composers such as Hans Zimmer & Pauliene Scanlon; parts in RTE TV series, publishing books and directing and programming festivals such as CubaDupa, Lōemis & Verb Wellington.

The band reformed in 2020 to play a one-off concert in New Zealand. Buoyed by the response to this, Gráda are playing two shows in Ireland in August, followed by a nine date tour of New Zealand.

With a sound rooted in trad, while drawing influences from folk, jazz, world music, and Americana. The band’s live shows exude energy, with an improvisation element that made them unique within the trad music world. The repertoire is seeded with original songs and instrumentals that have captured the imaginations of audiences all around the world. Audience’s can catch this renowned live spectaclein theatres and arts festivals across the motu in October.

In celebration of their reunion tour their full back catalogue has been released via streaming services from late July 2023.

Gràda 2023 Aotearoa Reunion Tour Dates:

18 October - San Fran, Wellington

19 October - Theatre Royal, New Plymouth

20 October - John Gallagher Academy, Hamilton

21 October - Tuning Fork, Auckland

22 October - Turner Centre, Kerikeri

26 October - Tauranga Arts Festival

27 October -TBA - Hawkes Bay

29 October - TBA - Nelson

28 October - Little Theatre, Lower Hutt

Tickets available via gradamusic.ie

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