There is a certain irony in the idea of traditional singer, Macdara Yeates, curating a series of performances under the title of the Megaphone Project – since of all the singers who frequent the many singing sessions in the Greater Dublin area, Dara is least in need of a megaphone or even a microphone – such is the power of his vocal projection.
The Megaphone Project is a series of pop-up performances exploring Irish traditional song in the modern cityscape as part of the MusicTown festival. The pop-up performances will be facilitated in May by placing a megaphone and soap box at various outdoor markets for short 30-minute sets featuring a selection of Dublin’s finest traditional singers.
The project has been inspired by the archival recordings of John Martin, the charismatic street singer who travelled the fairs of Ireland in the 1950s using a large megaphone in order to amplify his voice so that it could be heard above the noise of the ever-increasing traffic volumes on the streets of towns throughout Ireland.
The venues, dates and performers involved in the project will be announced in due course.
In the meantime, more information on the Musictown Festival is available on https://www.musictown.ie.aomplify