One of Ireland's most influential musicians, the renowned fiddler Martin Hayes makes two rare solo concerts in Tennessee, at the Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga on Saturday, July 22, and at the Grove Theater in Knoxville on Sunday, July 23.

The concert in Chattanooga begins at 8 p.m. Tickets will be available here. 

Mr. Hayes returns to the Volunteer State after bringing his experimental Irish band The Gloaming to the Big Ears Festival last year. 

Review for Martin Hayes:

From a rural childhood in County Clare, learning music from his well-known fiddle-playing father P Joe, Hayes has gone on to ignite the Irish tradition. By age 19 he had won six All-Ireland fiddle championships, the first of numerous international awards. His innovative and deeply soulful playing has made him a rock star in Ireland and celebrated in music circles around the globe, from folk to classical.

Says Hayes, "the message always coming to me from my father and lots of the finest musicians of County Clare was their idea of musical feeling. Music had to have feeling or it was nothing."

Hayes now works with some of the world's leading artists. He is featured on the new Grammy-winning Yo-Yo Ma album Sing Me Home (Sony Classical), and has performed in concert with Paul Simon and Sting. His surprising collaborations include jazz diva  Cassandra Wilson and guitarist Bill Frisell, bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, new classical quartet Brooklyn Rider, and downtown NYC artist Doveman. Martin has performed for President Obama at the White House, and taught actor Jeremy Irons a fiddle tune. 

Hayes' 20-year collaboration with American guitarist Dennis Cahill has had a huge impact on the genre. The duo are known for their electrifying concerts and pioneering arrangements. In 2011, Hayes founded The Gloaming, a 'supergroup' which burst onto the scene with new explorations and minimalist beauty. Their debut album took home Ireland's 2014 Meteor Prize, and was hailed from NPR to the Guardian.

"At its best music is a truly ecstatic experience," Hayes says. "I strive to reach and share that state each night with the audience. The great genius of Irish music is contained within the melody itself."

ails:

Saturday, July 22, 2017
Barking Legs 
Chattanooga, TN
8:00pm
http://barkinglegs.org