Paul Spring (Quartet) & Aidan Duffy (Trio) & Macdara O Faolain (Solo)

Coughlan's, Douglas St.

Sun 13th Sep, 7:30 pm

Paul Spring (quartet)Aidan Duffy (trio)Macdara O Faolain (solo)

Pual Spring is a singer songwriter from St Cloud, MN now based in Queens, NY. His new album Barnstorm arrives on August 21, 2026 on Bombadil records. It was recorded in County Galway, Ireland with 4 young Irish musicians. Spring met them on a tour of the country in May 2025 and was so inspired by their talent that he immediately booked a return flight to record with them. The 12 songs were tracked live in a home known as Inchiquinn, belonging to the grandfather of Uilleann Piper Tadhg Ó Raghallaigh. In addition to Tadhg, Ben Duffy plays drums, Sam Wright plays bass, and Macdara Ó Faolain plays bouzouki. They quickly found a shared vocabulary and similar heroes. 
Musically the songs travel through folk and baroque, sometimes reimagining Irish trad tunes but mostly interpolating Bach and Baroque pieces. Spring and O Faolain play the lines of a caprice, gavotte, or reel in unison while Duffy and Wright hold down a backbeat. And the songs float on top of it all. Lyrically they are a bit strange, ranging from Midwest celebrations to Lil Wayne parties and local NYC politics. They have a fresh perspective only possible from relocation - Minnesota and Ireland and New York - there’s a love enough here for all three. 

His last album Dumb and Free was released on November 11th, 2025. It is a collection of songs based on characters met while political canvassing and socializing in Stearns County, Minnesota.The songs were  arranged over a 8 month residency at Sunnys Bar in Redhook. In June, he recorded with that same band - Nick Hakim on Piano, Jon Nellen (Elucid, Big Thief, Smerz) on drums, Adam Brisbin (Cassandra Jenkins, Buck Meek) on electric guitar, and Kevin Copeland (Allegra Kreiger, Hannah Frances) on pedal steel. 


In addition to his solo work, Paul was lead singer and songwriter of the band Holy Hive until their dissolution in 2021. He has performed live as a background singer for Post Malone on Saturday Night Live and Fleet Foxes for a streaming performance. He has also appeared as a session guitarist and co-writer on Blackthought and El Michels Affair’s Glorious Game, and his guitar playing was sampled on releases by Kenny Beats, Vic Mensa, Sofia Valdez, and Kirby. He is technically a Grammy winning instrumentalist as of 2022, when he recorded a flute solo on New Orleans rapper Lecrae’s song “Good Lord”, which went on to win the award for Best Contemporary Christian Album.







Aidan Duffy is a 27-year-old songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer originally from County Meath, now based in Galway. While his work spans a variety of styles, his primary influence remains folk song and Irish traditional music, which underpin his approach to melody and storytelling.

As a solo artist, Aidan has independently released and produced two albums and three EPs, taking full creative control at every stage — from songwriting and production to mixing and touring. As well as drawing massively from the well of folk song, Aidan takes huge inspiration from numerous contemporary artists such as Villagers, Jessica Pratt and David Gray.










Macdara Ó Faoláin is a bouzouki player, fiddle player & singer from An Rinn, Co. Waterford, renowned for his innovative approach to traditional Irish music. He is currently focused on composing solo bouzouki pieces that seamlessly blend his deep knowledge of harmony with his traditional roots, drawing inspiration from a wide array of genres. As a native Irish speaker, he is also writing new songs in Irish, contributing to both the preservation and evolution of the language through his music.




Macdara performs regularly with collaborators such as Victoria Adiiye and Cormac McCarthy, and frequently accompanies various musicians within the traditional music scene, having developed a distinctive approach to the Irish bouzouki. He is also a member of a trio with Páraic Mac Donnchadha and Pádraic Keane. Their debut album, Beo, a compilation of live recordings from performances across the country, was hailed

by the Irish Echo as "one of the best albums of the past few years."




After years of building an impressive discography as an accompanist, Macdara released a solo EP titled Do Shamhlaigh Mé Tír Nua… in 2024, serving as a prelude to his debut album Ar Thaobh Chill an Fhuarthainnwhich was launched in early January 2025 with a sold-out release show.




Both releases were produced by composer and pianist

Cormac McCarthy and showcase Macdara both as a solo musician and as a

collaborator with McCarthy, Victoria Adiiye, Conor O’Sullivan, Áine Whelan and more.




Do Shamhlaigh Mé Tír Nua… was recently nominated for album of the year by Nós.ie as well as Macdara being nominated for Best Folk Instrumentalist by the RTÉ Folk Awards. Named the Young Musician of the Year by TG4 in 2024, Macdara is solidifying his place as a significant figure in the world of traditional Irish music.