‘Tap your feet and enjoy’

Carn musician Finbarr Doherty's new album is out now
Well-known Carn singer-songwriter releases new collection of songs
Inishowen singer-songwriter Finbarr Doherty has just released a new album that was a quarter of a century in the making.
The well-known Carn musician says his latest collection of songs, ‘Chapel Street to Somerville’, was recorded on both sides of the Atlantic, dating back from this year to the mid-1990s.
Bringing together 21 songs “conceived and recorded” in both Ireland and the US, the title of the record references Doherty’s journey from his native Carn to the city of Somerville, just outside Boston, Massachusetts.
Doherty tell us how the album itself has journeyed too, from four-tracks to hard drives, across the Atlantic and back, spanning 3,000 miles and 25 years of his life.
“It was recorded in bedrooms, backrooms, box-rooms and lofts, from hot humid summers in Boston, to damp winter nights in Donegal.”
He added: “The album was recorded in Boston and Carndonagh, with a number of musicians including Campbell Owens [Aztec Camera, Lloyd Cole] on bass, and with Liam Bradley on drums [Bradley has played with Van Morrison and Ronan Keating]. Also on the album are drummers Gary Raymond and Boston-based Julie Polvinen.”
Doherty is 58-years-old now, but feels like he’s still in his mid-thirties!
“As Bob Dylan says: ‘Time is a jet plane, it moves too fast’,” he smiles.
To read the full story buy this week’s paper in the shops or subscribe here