Keep Her Lit Presents: Niamh Regan & Brigid Mae Power

Niamh Regan is a critically acclaimed songwriter from county Galway. Released amid the pandemic in 2020, her debut album Hemet announced her arrival as one of the most distinctive songwriters in Ireland today. Earning nominations for both the RTE Folk Awards’ and the Choice Awards’ Album of the Year, the album received soaring praise, and led to performances on The Late Late Show, Other Voices, and La Blogothèque.

“A game-changing record” – The Journal of Music

“A quietly stunning debut” – The Sunday Times

“A quiet and determined triumph” – The Irish Times

Following her studies in flute and guitar in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, UL, Regan honed her craft as a songwriter by travelling between Ireland and California, writing about her experiences along the way. As a result, her songs seamlessly weave the intimacy of the Irish lyrical tradition with the expansive breadth of American songwriters such as Karen Dalton, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell, but the resulting sound is entirely her own.

A natural storyteller, Regan’s songs are windows into her world, snapshots of the intimacy of everyday life. This is evident on her latest EP, In the Meantime, which was generously supported by the Galway International Arts Festival Elevate Bursary. The EP is a collection of songs written during the challenges of the pandemic, exploring themes of acceptance, uncertainty, independence, family guilt, silence, and ordinary acts of love. With her singular mastery, Regan's songwriting draws us into the intricate details of everyday life and elevates them into something universal.

Brigid Mae Power’s songs are like an overheard lament she paints expansive and effortless songs that are hypnotic and folk orientated.

Recently signing to Fire Records, Power released the surely autobiographical and acclaimed new album ‘Head Above The Water’ earlier this year which was Rough Trade’s ‘Album Of The Month’.

The third album from the celebrated Irish singer songwriter is a coming of age opus featuring a ground-breaking amalgamation of traditional folk and country - an engaging blend of strings, bouzouki, piano and Power’s distinctive vocal make it a beautiful body of work.

“Softly delivered, these are hard lessons that we should all learn in time.” ★★★★ Irish Times

“Extraordinary” Sunday Times

★★★★ The Guardian

Recorded in analogue studio The Green Door in Glasgow with Alasdair Roberts co-producing alongside Brigid and Peter Broderick. It’s a continuing tale of everyday survival, more diverse, more ethereal, personal and even more alluring…

Power is a singer that has found her voice and been able to embroider that beautiful thing into a musical tapestry that’s melancholy and wonderfully consuming. With her heart on her sleeve, her words bobbing about as the tide changes, the much-travelled musician has come a long way.