Owen Spafford & Cáit Ní Riain & Ultan O Brian

in duos and bands with Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Martin Green (Lau),

Nic Gareiss, Laura Jurd, Slow Moving Clouds, Neil Ó Lochlainn’s Cuar, and John

Francis Flynn.

In March 2025, Ultan released his debut solo album, Dancing the Line, through

Nyahh Records featuring Nic Gareiss, Martin Green and Edwina Guckian.

‘There’s an understated virtuosity to these tunes — a weightlessness that lifts the

spirit even in their plaintive moments, often propelled by the percussive shuffle of

dancer Nic Gareiss, who taps his way across the album’s floorboards. O’Brien pays

tribute to the experimentation that’s always thrived in the tradition, nodding to

players like Nell Galvin and Packie Manus Byrne whose singular creative methods

inspired his own development as a musician.’ — Eoin Murray

Cáit Ní Riain

Cáit Ní Riain is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Upperchurch in

Co.Tipperary. She is deeply rooted in Irish traditional music and song, and

has been influenced by the great depth and beauty of the songs and tunes

of Ireland, and of folk musics the world over; the music, songs, and

rhythms that have grown from the ground up, from the human’s

relationship with land. She is particularly passionate about the traditional

songs of Ireland, the keening tradition, the deep embodiment of voice, and

voice as a potent healing and spiritual tool. She composes her own songs

which are rooted in themes of wildness, love, and the need to decolonize

our minds, hearts, and bodies. She plays piano and sings in ‘The

Weaving’, alongside accordionist and singer, Méabh Begley and Leeds’

fiddler, Owen Spafford. The Weaving are an exciting new group

celebrating the deep taproots of both Irish and English traditional music

and song who will release their debut album entitled Dlúth agus Inneach,

Warp and Weft, on February 11th 2026.

Owen Spafford

Owen Spafford is a fiddle player and composer from Leeds whose musical

life

started in the Leeds-Irish trad. scene. Owen has since toured with Giffords

Circus

and received a scholarship to study composition at the Royal Academy of

Music.

His installation exploring the oral tradition in traditional music ‘Welcome

Here, Kind

Stranger’ has been presented in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and UK

featuring musicians Sam Amidon, Brighde Chaimbeul and Mikey Kenney.

Owen is also an All-Britain Fiddle Champion in the Fleadh Cheoil na

Breataine and BBC Young

Composer Competition nominee. Equally at home in a traditional session as

he is

in a free improvisation workshop, Spafford’s understanding of the oral

tradition

and love for vernacular music from around the world enables an inventive

and

thoughtful fiddle style.

In 2022 Owen released a debut album with guitarist Louis Campbell which

Martin

Hayes described as “a beautiful, moody and tasteful recording that defies

classification. The arrangements and playing are truly subtle and the sounds

are

pristine.” The duo allows Owen and Louis to distill their love of traditional

and

experimental music into powerful, intricate and intimate music. Their music

manages to orbit many different sound-worlds from traditional English dance

tune to chamber music and post-rock with influences ranging from field

recordings, to The Gloaming, Bill Frisell, Ravel and Godspeed You! Black

Emperor.

Alongside the duo, his band ‘The Weaving’ with Méabh Begley and Cáit Ní

Riain

explores Owen’s deep love for traditional Irish music

????Ballydehob Traditional Music Festival 2026 will be held across the village of Ballydehob, West Cork from Friday, March 27th - Sunday, March 29th 2026. ballydehobtradfest.com/