Dempsey, The New Heavyweight

I've been listening to a lot of Damien Dempsey lately. Like right now, for instance. And thinking, this is a huge coup for Irish Fest to have him coming here. I remember when John Spillane was first booked to play here a couple years ago. I was and am a big Spillane fan. And I'm sure everybody I know, including a lot of you, got tired of me telling you whatever you do, don't miss John Spillane at Irish Fest. Yes, I know you've never heard of him, but trust me, I said. And I was right. Amazing stuff, two years in a row.

This year, Damien Dempsey is the guy you'll get sick of me bugging you about. Maybe it's a singer/songwriter thing. There's something about someone singing their own words, when the feeling is so apparent, so when the song is so personal. Maybe it's because of the great tradition of Irish storytelling. Maybe it's what Eddie Delahunt has when he sings Banner Man. What Christy Moore has when he sings Lisdoonvarna. What Luka Bloom has when he sings City Of Chicago. What John Spillane has when he sings Magic Nights In The Lobby Bar. Whatever it is, there isn't anybody in Ireland...or anywhere else, for that matter, doing it any better right now than Dempsey.

So forgive me if I wear you out on this over the next 157 days. I just want to make sure that when September 1st rolls around, you're telling everyone you know about the great Damien Dempsey show you saw at Irish Fest.