Barry Kerr is riding a remarkable new wave of recognition, with his seventh studio album

Curlew’s Cry shortlisted for Folk Album of the Year. March will see him on a special run of

English dates: Stroud’s Prince Albert on 16 March, a featured appearance at the Awards show in

Manchester on 17 March (to be streamed online), Birmingham’s Nortons on 18 March, and the

Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, on 19 March.

A celebrated composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist, Barry is known for

work that captures the raw pulse and quiet poetry of Irish life. Originally from the southern shores of

Lough Neagh and now rooted in the wild landscape of Connemara, he has carved out a distinctive

voice over more than two decades of touring and recording—sharing stages with some of Ireland’s

most revered performers.

Barry recorded his debut album at just seventeen, launching an international career that has seen him

collaborate with luminaries such as Steve Cooney, Cara Dillon, Julie Fowlis, Lumiere, and Dervish. His

compositions have travelled even further, nding new life in the hands of artists including Karan

Casey, Flook, Jiggy, Beoga, Brian Finnegan, Damian O’Kane, and Kate Rusby.

An award-winning musician with a reputation for artistic fearlessness, Barry received the inaugural

Liam O’Flynn Award from the National Concert Hall and the Arts Council in 2020. In 2023, he served

as Traditional Musician in Residence at University College Cork. His creative curiosity continues to

push boundaries—most notably in Fuascail, his meditative lm exploring Ireland’s decade of

centenaries, broadcast on TG4 in December 2022.

At the heart of Barry’s recent work lies Curlew’s Cry: a haunting, luminous collection of original and

traditional songs inspired by folklore, memory, and the natural world. Its shortlist for Folk Album of the

Year marks a powerful moment in the evolution of an artist whose voice is as timeless as it is

unmistakably his own.