Hi all. Apologies for the long absence. I decided to take some time off in the first half of 2018 so there hasn’t been a lot going on to talk about. I’ve been traveling a lot too which keeps me busy.

Just to say first that I really enjoyed the Delbert McClinton week long Caribbean cruise in early January. Meeting old friends and making new ones while playing and listening to bands like The Mavericks and The Fabulous Thunderbirds is hard to beat.

Then it was off to New Zealand for almost a month to spend time with our son and family. Pleased to say that the family increased by one while we were there with the birth of baby grand daughter Olive Jade Brady.

On my return it was getting down to mixing and editing the film of last summer’s Irish tour with Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Kevin Burke as we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of our album ‘Andy Irvine & Paul Brady’. It’s set to be a TV program and possibly a DVD later this year.

I’m also spending a lot of time writing a memoir of sorts which is awakening a lot of emotions from the past, mostly good I’m happy to say. Hopefully that will appear maybe next year.

As far as live performance is planned, there’s nothing before June 17th at the Doolin Folk Festival in County Clare except for a short one-song appearance at the BBC 2 Folk Awards in Belfast on April 4 for future BBC TV broadcast at an as yet unknown date.

Later in the year we’re working on a short return trip to USA for four City Winery shows in NYC, Boston, Nashville and Chicago. We’ll let you know if and when they’re confirmed.

Finally hoping to do a few more shows with Andy, Donal and Kevin in October. Venues being worked on are in Dublin, Cork, London and Prague.

That’s it for now Hope your year is treating you well!

Paul