Singer songwriter Tadhg Williams has released his new single, Nixer - his first release in almost three years and he and plays the Cobblestone, Dublin on 9 June. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
Nixer is Tadhg's commentary on how the cost-of-living crisis has affected Ireland’s youth over the last couple of years.
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"I suppose when you’re trying to support yourself in a city as expensive as Dublin, and you see your friends and colleagues trying to do the same, you realise why so many people are emigrating again," he says.
"Nixer is very much that story - of a city that’s being stripped of its culture and identity in favour of hotels and office blocks, and its people barely being able to afford to live in it anymore."
In the past three years, Tadhg has worked to develop his stage craft, supporting a variety of acts from Mary Black and The Stunning to Kingfishr and Niamh Regan.
He has also completed an undergraduate degree in history, which has been a huge source of inspiration for his songwriting.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I'm a huge history buff. I think that comes through in a few of my songs. I actually have a history degree which I spent four of the best years of my life doing in Trinity. Good craic.
Wherever Waterford FC go, I go. I love the Blues and try to get to as many games as I can home and away with the crew from the IDBSC (Independent Dublin Blues Supporters Club). Connor Parsons looping the ball over the goalkeeper into the top right in Tallaght last November was possibly the greatest moment of my life.
I 've played Glastonbury. I was there last year as a punter and I was camping next to a chap from East London who worked on one of the stages. They had a last minute pull out so I got the slot. It was a small stage, but I can forever say I played Glastonbury now!
How would you describe your music?
Acoustic folk-rock? To me, good quality songwriting is the most important thing and that's what I try to concentrate on. After that, I'm lucky enough to have friends that are more talented musicians than me that can translate the ideas in my head. I like to think the songs are folk songs at their core.
Who are your musical inspirations?
As an emotionally vulnerable teenager, Damien Dempsey and Glen Hansard's music both had a real effect on me. They kind of taught me how music can make you feel. Bell- X1 as well actually - Paul Noonan is an incredible lyricist. In the last few years, it's been The Waterboys, The Pogues, Paolo Nutini and The War on Drugs. More recently, CMAT has become one of my favourites, I think she's one of the best Ireland has ever produced. Angie McMahon is also proving a massive influence on me currently. And being from Waterford, Gilbert O'Sullivan. Legend.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
My Dad brought me to see Def Leppard, Alice Cooper and a make-shift Thin Lizzy in the Point when I was 12. I was a Lizzy lunatic at that age, and that particular show had Scott Gorham and Brian Downey on stage so it felt unbelievably special. Hot Press's Phil Lynott exhibition was running in Stephen's Green at the time as well, so we came up the road from Waterford early to visit that and met Philomena Lynott, who signed a book for me. A wonderful woman. I went to see The Waterboys at the Tall Ships in Waterford a few weeks later with Dad and I think that was the show that made me decide what I wanted to do with my life.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Unbelievably, Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy. There was a second-hand record shop in Waterford while I was growing up and I developed an early obsession with vinyl records. I got Jailbreak there one Saturday afternoon with Dad for €15. The first single I ever bought, on CD, is slightly more embarrassing. Chris Doran's 2004 Irish Eurovision entry, If My World Stopped Turning. Why am I telling you this?
What’s your favourite song right now?
I have a few. There's a song called Birds by an English band called Divorce I've been obsessed with. I think Where Are Your Kids Tonight? by CMAT and John Grant is an absolute masterpiece. A couple of friends of mine have released brilliant songs recently too - Somewhere North have a track out called Eden that's quite incredible from a production perspective, and my friend Gemma Cox recently released What If?, which is a brilliantly written tune.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won't ever come/It's never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder" Jeff Buckley, Lover You Should've Come Over. Achingly beautiful. After that, "You're the chocolate at the end of my cornetto" - Bell-X1, The Great Defector. Genius.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Rainy Night in Soho by The Pogues. Simply one of the best written songs of all time. Amazing instrumentation, gorgeous riff. I also love playing it, it sends me to another universe.
Where can people find your music/more information?
I have a big fancy website - tadhgwilliams.com and if you sign up to my mailing list there you'll get all the info as it happens! Also, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all that malarkey.
Alan Corr
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