Last year, two longtime figureheads of Ireland’s music scene died: Sinéad O’Connor, in July, at age 56, and the Pogues singer Shane MacGowan, in December, at age 65. Now, New York’s Carnegie Hall is hosting a celebration of their lives on March 20 to honor the late musicians, who were friends and collaborators, with sets by the Mountain Goats, Cat Power, and Dropkick Murphys.
Glen Hansard, Amanda Palmer, Bettye LaVette, and David Gray are also slated to perform at the event, as are Eugene Hutz, Julia Cumming, Kat Edmonson, and the Resistance Revival Chorus—many of whom collaborated with either artist while they were still alive. In the case of Hansard, he even performed at MacGowan’s funeral with a touching rendition of “Fairytale of New York.”
The show, which is billed as “a St. Patrick’s celebration of Sinéad O’Connor & Shane MacGowan” because of its proximity to the holiday, promises more artists will be announced. Tickets are currently on sale.
MacGowan was honored by numerous musicians after his death, including a lengthy obituary by Nick Cave in The Guardian. After O’Connor was mourned by the likes of Kate Bush, Massive Attack, and ANOHNI within the music industry, it was revealed that her previously unreleased track “The Magdalene Song,” which addresses cruelty in the Irish Catholic church system, would air as part of the BBC church drama The Woman in the Wall.
