the olllam

Music Capital Presents the olllam

Special Guest: TBA

Sun 16th Feb 2025

Mandela Hall 77 University Rd, Belfast BT7 1NF

Doors - 7pm

Starts - 7.45pm

Tickets £28.50 +bf

www.theolllam.com

www.musiccapital.org

Stage times are approx and subject to change

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the olllam Announce 2024 UK & Ireland Tour

the olllam, the critically acclaimed, genre-defying Irish-American supergroup, has announced an exciting 12-date UK and Ireland tour for early 2025. Known for their trailblazing blend of traditional Irish instruments with long, cyclical melodies, fusing jazz, and psych-post-rock, the olllam continues to push musical boundaries. This tour again features Scotland’s whistle ace Ross Ainslie up front with Irish piper John McSherry, while bass supremo Joe Dart (Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers), Detroit drummer Michael Shimmin and keyboard player Joe Hettinga all return, joining Limerick guitarist Seán O’Meara.

The 2025 tour follows sell out shows at Barrowlands during Celtic Connections and at London’s Jazz Cafe in 2024. It comes on the heels of the band’s recent collaboration with Grammy-winning electronic artist Zedd on his latest album Telos.

The tour will begin on January 30 in Sheffield at the Leadmill, and will travel across major cities such as Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, London, and Dublin, Cork at Cyprus Avenue before wrapping up on February 16 in Mandela Hall Belfast. The Glasgow concert is part of Celtic Connections Festival, and the Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester dates are presented by Through The Noise.

2024 marked an exciting change for the olllam as they welcomed renowned Scottish musician Ross Ainslie (Whistles, bagpipes) to the lineup, replacing founding member Tyler Duncan – increasingly in demand elsewhere as a producer - for live shows. Ainslie, known for his work with Treacherous Orchestra and Salsa Celtica, proved to be the perfect addition, bringing his distinct whistle-playing to the band, enhancing the already intricate interplay of long, cyclical melodies for which the olllam is famous.

the olllam are:

John McSherry (Uilleann pipes, whistles)

Ross Ainslie (Whistles)

Michael Shimmin (Drums)

Joe Dart (Bass)

Joe Hettinga (Keys)

Seán O’Meara (Guitar)

Collaboration with Zedd

the olllam recently collaborated with global superstar Zedd on his latest album Telos, contributing their unique sound to the track Sona. This unexpected partnership blends the olllam’s traditional instrumentation and unusual time signatures with cutting-edge electronic music, marking a new chapter in the olllam's journey and broadening their appeal to new audiences worldwide.

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