Luka Bloom set to play Birnam gig

May 21 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

IRISH rover Luka Bloom had to wryly admit that he’s played more gigs in Australia than in Scotland.

Not that the County Kildare singer-songwriter is short of fans on this side of the Irish Sea, and he’s played at just about every Celtic Connections Festival either as a solo performer or as part of a collaborative concert, including a guest at the memorable Clannad reunion concert of 2007.

His long career in music has taken him around the world, and at last he’s coming to Highland Perthshire!

Many of Luka’s songs reflect his life as a guitar-toting troubadour. In fact some people who enjoy the music of Christy Moore may be surprised to learn that his oft-performed ‘City of Chicago’ is a masterpiece of Luka Bloom – Christy’s younger brother.

At the outset of his career Luka adopted his stage name so as to escape the tag of Christy’s younger brother.

Luka and Christy come from a family of County Kildare singers and musicians, and Luka’s career started when he first went on tour with Christy.

In 1987 Luka and his music ploughed a furrow in the USA, and although he returned to settle in Ireland, his far-flung travels have continued in parallel with his prolific recording career.

“I do bigger gigs all over the place but I thought it was time I came over to Scotland but to venture out of Glasgow and Edinburgh. I’ve done more shows in Australia than in Scotland, to my shame,” he told PA Arts.

“This tour is special because I’ll be playing in nice intimate venues.”

Luka Bloom fans are snapping up tickets for his Perthshire debut in the Birnam Arts Centre on June 3.

The tour coincides with the release of his latest album, ‘Dreams in America’ – a collection of carefully chosen and re-recorded songs from his 20 years in music. The album is not, he stressed, a ‘Best of’ release.

“When musicians get to my age they usually get the urge to release a ‘Best of’ album. I never liked the idea of simply taking tracks off old albums, so instead I investigated my work, found songs which I liked and gave them a slightly different interpretation.”

His Birnam audience will hear the smooth-as-honey voiced Luka’s own poetic and melodic songs along with cover numbers. He’s acknowledged as a master interpreter of material by a diverse range of songwriters, including famous Scots Hamish Imlach and John Martyn.

Luka spoke to PA Arts just before a recurring episode of tendonitis – with which he has been grappling for years – made it impossible for him to perform the English dates on his tour.

He hopes to return to performing next week, subject to his doctor's approval, and complete his four-venue tour of Scotland.