Matt McGinn

Matt McGinn is a singer & songwriter from Hilltown in Co. Down. His 5th and latest album release ‘Time Well Spent’ was RTÉ Radio 1’s ‘Album of the Week’ at the beginning of 2022 and features a wealth of incredible musicians like legendary fiddle player Eliza Carthy MBE and award winning folk singer Aoife Scott.Matt was named ‘one to watch’ in 2020 by Hotpress Magazine, and rightly so. Since then he had 4 singles top The BBC Radio Ulster and RTÉ Radio 1 radio airplay charts. His album ‘Lessons of War’ received much acclaim. The lead track ‘Bubblegum’ ft. Ciara O’Neill, which was written with Mick Flannery, promoted BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson to ask the question “…now wasn’t that just extraordinary?…”’Time Well Spent’ is the name of Matt’s acclaimed latest album and the title track is duet with award-winning folk singer Aoife Scott, from the Legendary Black Family. It became one of Ireland’s biggest folk songs in 2022.In 2022 Matt was commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen to compose a Suite to celebrate their Digital Archives. Matt composed, arranged, and performed in ‘Tribute to Willie Campbell’, a man who busked the streets of Belfast for 40 years until he died in 1969. Matt’s piece was filmed by renowned director Sam Kwan, and is currently touring Film Festivals across Europe.As lockdown began in March of 2020, Matt, along with fellow performer Cormac Neeson of The Answer, developed the online platform Cocoons. Spanning over 60 weeks, it became a much loved diverse and inclusive platform that has saw performances from over 140 established artists all around the word and raised over £12,000 for various charities.For this special performance Matt will be joined by one of the most sought-after session players in the UK Ireland, Matt Curran. Matt has played all over the world, rising to the top of the country scene with ease as well as making a name from himself as a jazz virtuoso. Matt Curran can play anything and generally does…leaving audiences astounded.

Supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of N Ireland