by Rebecca Crockett
DUNFANAGHY Jazz and Blues Festival kicks off today as the seaside town welcomes over 60 free acts across five days of music.
Among those filling out the packed line-up is international folk-jazz fusion band, Atlantic Road Trip.
The aptly named group perform at the festival on Sunday, September 15 at 4pm bringing a unique style influenced by indigenous Celtic folk music and contemporary Jazz. London Jazz Times even marked them as one of the “most interesting and inspirational groups on the world jazz stage.”
Formed in 2021 with Chicago-based trumpeter Chad McCullough, Slovakian vibraphonist Miro Herak, and Scottish saxophonist Paul Towndrow at the helm. The trio’s broad roots have created a sound they describe as a “melting pot of different ideas.”
Co-lead of the band, Paul Towndrow, spoke about the excitement of finally bringing that melting pot to Ireland due to the rich musical heritage the island has produced.
Paul told the Donegal News: “Since the beginning of this project we have really wanted to get to Ireland, and Dunfanaghy Jazz and Blues Festival was a great opportunity to sort of open our account here and bring some of this music home.”
It is more than a just figurative homecoming for a member of the band’s rhythm section. Bassist and former student in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Conor Murray hails from Falcarragh and has toured Ireland, Britain, Europe, Russia and Morocco playing to jazz crowds. However, Conor only had glowing reports for the audiences on home soil.
He said: “To play to a home crowd is a wonderful experience. The atmosphere is always so warm and supportive and it’s a joy to share it with the people where I’m from.
“Atlantic Road Trip is an amazing band to have been a part of for the past 4 years. To see how the band has developed and to bring it to Ireland is very exciting and I can’t wait for the people in Dunfanaghy to hear it.”
With so many cultural inspirations in their repertoire, you’d be forgiven in thinking a Donegal reference might have slipped into the band’s name given its location along the Wild Atlantic Way.
However, Paul admitted that it was a happy coincidence: “We were looking for something that would encapsulate the idea that this was an international collaboration. Also, the fact that the band is a little bit more than just an exclusive jazz project but one that combines folk music from all our different heritages.”
Paul added: “We’ve not been to the Atlantic together, so we’re very excited to be in this area to have the band name make some sense.”
When Donegal News met the group, they were on the road heading to their gig in Bristol. It’s a nice change from their early days during the pandemic when their first performance together was in front of a virtual crowd at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival.
Co-lead and trumpeter of Atlantic Road Trip, Chad McCullough explained that their distinctive style has proven successful when introduced to live crowds: “I think one of the things that’s interesting is that it gives people who come from different backgrounds different footholds to still experience live music.” He said.
“If the Jazz is too weird, then the jig suddenly starts and they’re like, ‘Oh, wait, I understand this. I have a cultural reference for this.’ There’s a little bit of something for everybody.”
Atlantic Road Trip will be performing at Arnold’s bar at 4pm on Sunday, September 16. For information on all 60 acts coming to the festival, follow Dunfanaghy Jazz and Blues Festival on Facebook.
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