The Irish World were there for a special night when up and coming Irish indie folk band Kingfishr led a session at Skehan’s in South London on Saturday 21 September.
Kingfishr have supported big names like Bruce Springsteen, Snow Patrol, Tom Walker, George Ezra, Dermot Kennedy and played massive festivals such as Electric Picnic, Glastonbury and Isle of Wight.
The band were in London to do some recording when they decided to make use of a day off by playing a special show at Skehan’s. The band have also been known to play in people’s kitchens which shows that they are just as comfortable playing more intimate settings as they are playing big venues such as The Olympia, Thomond Park or Hyde Park.
Kingfishr- made up of Edmond Keogh, Eoin Fitzgibbon and Eoghan McGrath- played their well known songs like Shot in the Dark, Eyes Don’t’ Lie and the latest release I Cried, I Wept, and were also joined by special guests along the way such as Oscar Blue.
The band was formed in Limerick with its members, from the counties of Wexford, Cork and Tipperary, meeting while studying at UL.
Earlier this year they released their Live in Dublin album and those at Skehan’s on Saturday night got to see what makes their live show so special.
Skehan’s is known to be busy on a Saturday night, it was named the best pub in London last year by TimeOut magazine, but this was something else with people cramming in to see a very special show and then climbing high to get a better view.
Describing themselves as ‘purveyors of craic’, Skehan’s boasts a delicious menu of Thai food to go with their excellent Guinness.
The Green Isle camogie team, who had a disappointing result in their match that day, were among those there to see one of Ireland’s fastest rising bands.
Edmond Keogh told the crowd as the band concluded their set: “We just want to say we had no aim or plan for coming here, we just knew we wanted to play a gig in a pub, whatever that meant. Thank you so much to everyone that made that happen, to yourselves, a massive round of applause.”
The crowd couldn’t get enough and this was evident with the singing that went on after the band put their instruments away.
Saturday night could go down as a legendary night when a privileged crowd in London got to see a band play a London venue before they go on to play ever bigger stages from here.
However with the band’s penchant for playing more intimate settings such as bars or kitchens, it also may not be the last time they are seen doing such a thing.
Kingfishr tour Ireland and the UK in October/ November.
For more information on the band, go to kingfishr.os.fan.
For more information on Skehan’s, go to skehans.com.