Clonakilty venue to host Alabama 3

DeBARRA’S Folk Club in Clonakilty will host Brixton band Alabama 3 on Wednesday, October 26 as part of the group’s acoustic Irish tour.

“The thought of not having Alabama 3 fills me with horror,” Stephen King once said. A man who, to be fair, knows a lot about horror.

Alabama 3 Acoustic and Unplugged is a four-piece outfit consisting of Larry Love on vocals, Aurora Dawn on vocals, Rock Freebase on guitar, and Harpo Strangelove on harmonica.

With this line up, they bring a new dimension to the songs made famous by Alabama 3, eschewing acid house music for country/gospel/delta blues, but played with a rhythm which still calls the faithful to dance.

With the addition of Aurora Dawn to the line-up there’s an added injection of soul — or, as it says on the cover of the band’s latest album Revolver Soul, this is “soul music with a gun against your head”.

With a tag like that, it might not quite be the sound listened to by respected family man Anthony John Soprano on his drive home to North Caldwell, New Jersey, but the late waste management consultant would probably still approve.

By performing in this stripped-down acoustic way, the band’s aim was to show the songs in a format reminiscent of that pioneered by the people who have been their inspiration, chiefly the old Delta Blues players like Fred MacDowell and Bukka White.

Ray Blackwell, manager at DeBarra’s, said the venue was very excited to welcome Alabama 3 back to Clonakilty, 12 years on from their sold-out appearance at the Clonakilty Waterfront Festival.

“This joyous return to West Cork will be a far more intimate affair this time round with this seminal band presenting their narco-acoustic slant on Alabama 3 and the music that has inspired them along the way in DeBarra’s Folk Club,” he said. “This will be an enviable chance to see this band up close.”

Tickets, €25, are available from debarras.ie, with the venue welcoming a line-up of artists from near and far over the next few weeks.

Among those acts will be: Seba Safe (27 October), John Spillane (3 November), Shane Clifford (4 November), Wallis Bird (10 November), Lisa O’Neill (13 November), Andrew Ryan (24 November), and Cinder Well (27 November). Full listings at debarras.ie.