Irish: Last News

Signs of Life, the product of months of self-reflection and assembled in the relative stillness and isolation of 2020.It bears signs of a pandemic and a world in tumult, but even more so into Vance’s own concurrent personal struggle.“Sapling,” the first single, opens the album with a cathartic swell of emotion and captures the spirit of renewal that Vance brought into writing and recording the album, as well as offering a window into Vance’s mental state at the time as he attempted to turn around a problematic relationship with drugs and alcohol.Much more than a vehicle for its radio-friendly, folk-rock singles, the real gems can be found scattered in between on Signs of Life, some of them unfolding more slowly and rewarding a more attentive listen.Ultimately, the magic holding Signs of Life together is Vance’s songwriting, which demands attention and keeps things interesting when they might otherwise end up plodding.On a casual listen, the nuance and finesse that Vance brings to tracks like the album closer “Percolate” could easily be missed.On tour, the new songs will no doubt travel well with his knack for live performance and the energy and stage presence he’ll bring to them, showing Vance back on his game.Tuesday, May 10, at The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.Call 703-549-7500 or visit www.birchmere.com.

The Seafarer is just as powerfully a contemplation on what it is to knock along in a life pot-holed with bad luck and dysfunction. Indeed, almost all of the first act is a fly-on-the-wall immersion in a certain kind of seedy male domesticity.Amid peeling wallpaper and rising damp, the house buzzes with bark, banter, and potted philosophizing as mismatched cups, milk possibly past its sell-by date, and a lifetime’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol arrive and depart.

The Banshees of Inisherin already capturing a fair share of the major awards and with possibly a decent shot at some Oscar love, the focus on Irish cinema is hotter than ever.Of course, Solas Nua, Washington, D.C.’s hub for contemporary Irish culture and performing arts, has been training its eye on films emerging from the Emerald Isle for quite some time now.This is the 17th year they’ve curated the Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF), and this year’s four-day festival, held March 2 to 5 at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, is arguably the largest in the group’s history.The festival opens with a massive get — The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin), which is up for an Oscar in the Best International Film category.Director Colm Bairéad’s coming-of-age drama, is set in rural Ireland in the early ’80s, as a young girl struggles with a dysfunctional, impoverished homelife and finds new life when sent to live with relatives for the summer. Bairéad will participate in a Q&A following the screening.