Sean Keane 2

Diversity is the name of the game for Seán Keane - For the fifth year running he has been voted Best Male Folk singer by the readers of Irish Music Magazine - no mean feat. He was chosen Best Contemporary Male in the Irish World Awards in London and was nominated for a Meteor Award in the Country music section. His first solo album, `All Heart No Roses` was chosen as Folk Album of the Year by Q Magazine. All of this aptly reflects Sean's music. Audience favourites include a range of material such as the Beatles' song 'Blackbird', Sonny Curtis' country song `No Stranger to the Rain`, Brendan Graham's folk song `Isle of Hope Isle of Tears`, the blues number `Killing the Blues`- and when Sean does a capella performances of traditional Irish classics like `Stór Mo Chroí` you can hear a pin drop.

There is no way of mistaking the unique voice of Seán Keane and his new album 'Valley of the Heart' delivers a range of material which showcases it at it's very best. There are twelve tracks on the album which cover much ground. Brendan Graham wrote Zuider Zee, a haunting love song with a story. There are three songs from John Spillane - `Valley of the Heart`, from which the album takes it's title, an up tempo number on which Mairitn O Connor does his special magic with the accordion, `The Only One For Me`, also a new song and about to become a folk classic, and `The Land You Love The Best`, a folk song with an immediately unforgettable melody. The American songwriter Kristen Hall wrote the ballad `Million Years`. Other ballads are `Bells` and `One Day I Walk`. `Look Heart No Hands` is a country song and the single from the album. `Good Love after Bad` is also country, written by Guy Clarke. `Sea of Freedom` is a folk/country nugget by Canadian songwriter James McCandless and `One Girl Cried` a ballad from well known Irish-American Tim O'Brien. The final song on the album is a traditional classic .It is performed as a duet with Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, the fine traditional singer from Donegal. This version is bi lingual and the voices combine to make it sound stunning