When: 7.30pm on Saturday 13 May 2023
Where: Hallé St Peter’s, 40 Blossom Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6BF 

We’re delighted to welcome The Breath to Hallé St Peter’s!

The Breath is Manchester-based guitarist Stuart McCallum and singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly. They met on the city’s gig circuit in the late noughties. An unlikely pairing though it was, he an acclaimed guitar whiz, ex long-time member of The Cinematic Orchestra and a softly spoken Manchester urbanite, she a folk singer with a larger-than-life personality and a powerful voice to match. Their connection was immediate; they formed The Breath in 2016, a singer-songwriter duo to present their contemporary take on alt-folk.

For them, it’s all about the song. Connolly is a storyteller and their exquisitely crafted, honest, personal, heartfelt songs are as likely to touch on childhood summers and first love as cultural dislocation, post- colonial injustices and grief. But it’s Ríoghnach’s impassioned delivery and extraordinary stop-you-in- your-tracks voice, coupled with Stuart’s understated brilliance that is so engaging.

The Breath have released three albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. Their breakthrough album, Carry Your Kin (2016) delved deeply into the spaces between rock, ambient and Irish folk, where layered vocals, mesmerising guitar riffs and expansive folk arrangements created a big sound. Let the Cards Fall followed in 2018, and, like the first, was recorded with a full band granting a multi-textured kaleidoscope of sound with a cinematic sensibility. References to Celtic history and cultural loss are woven into a bewitching collection of songs that span beguiling ballads and punch-the-air anthems. In support of the release, Stuart and Ríoghnach performed a series of shows – just the two of them. Stripped bare, they found a new depth and beauty in their songs allowing their extraordinary connection to shine through. The duo returned to the studio in 2019 to record Only Stories (Let the Cards Fall Revisited) reimagining previous work (alongside two new songs) taking it back to its acoustic roots. This new direction would see Ríoghnach Connolly receive an RTÉ Folk Award nomination for Best Folk Singer and win Folk Singer Of The Year at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for which the duo were also nominated as Best Duo/Group.

During the pandemic of 2020/2021, The Breath returned to the studio to record a set of songs in remembrance of American lost folk icon, Karen Dalton. In the spring of 2021, they released a two-track single, Something On Your Mind and original song, Remembering Mountains. They release their third studio album on Real World Records in 2023.

‘An affecting blend …. McCallum provides the grandeur and artifice and Connolly the intimacy and purity’ – Uncut

‘Quietly, inexorably, The Breath have become one of the most exciting folk acts’ – The Financial Times

Local support comes from Poppy Holmes. At her core, Poppy Holmes is a storyteller – her theatrical background and voracious appetite for literature allows her to peek into other worlds and tell familiar stories in a moving and unique manner. She is known for her surprising lyrics, hummable tunes and ability to explore a broad range of emotional, profound topics in an unpretentious style.

Poppy Holmes takes inspiration from an eclectic mix of artists such as: Fiona Apple, Julia Jacklin, Paul Simon and The Divine Comedy. This broad range of influences amalgamates into the ambiguously vintage yet often timeless, tongue-in-cheek sound you hear today. She has opened for bands such as the Moulettes and Kyla La Grange, and has also played various venues around Manchester such as YES Pink Room, Night & Day Cafe and Band on the Wall.

This is 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are also available from Dice.fm, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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