Equal Fashion Magazine Vol 4-2016
Jo-Jo O ' & The WOODS with ' The Famous Six ' At The Belfast Nashville Songwr iter s Festival
What are a pair of ' late 20-something ' Canadians, three of Dublin ' s coolest Rock and Roll Dads, and one blonde, blue-eyed bluesy Belfast woman, playing together at The Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, under the name ' The Famous Six '?
Where does one even begin to explain this anomaly??
We had arrived in Dublin, Ireland last May, by August we found ourselves swallowed whole by the enigma that is Darkey Kelly ' s. A little pub tucked around the corner from the bustle of Dame Street, and a hop and a skip from Temple Bar.
I don ' t know what is was about this pub? but I felt I had arrived exactly where I was supposed to be. We; Jo-Jo O ' & The WOODS, A random pair of Canadian songwriters, had become regular members of The Musicians and Songwriters Collective of Dublin, and performed our original music every Tuesday at Darkey Kelly ' s, shoulder to shoulder with the
local acts, men and women of all ages and walks of life, performing for audiences from all over the world. There we would establish friendships with this motley crew of artists, patrons, and the Darkey ' s Boys, who we affectionately refer to as our ' Irish Dads '( behind their backs, of course.)
' The Famous Six ' is the brain child of one Tony Floyd Kenna, creator and orchestra-tor of The Dublin Collective. Tony, a warm, gregarious force of nature- I think I speak for us all when I say he is a man we all struggle to keep up with. One Tuesday evening in November, Tony tells Rylan and I that we will be playing at " BelNash " in March; " Three duos, Six voices, Twelve eyes, songs to stir your heart and soul. Writing and performing partnerships forged in the furnace of life."- An excerpt from Tony ' s proposal.
It was that easy. And then we were the Famous Six, a band made up of three bands, shipped up to Belfast to represent The Dublin Collective.
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