The Shnug

Marble Roots

Since the 1998 the Marble city has played host to some of the finest names in Americana and Roots music. Held over 4 days every May ‘the Kilkenny Roots Festival’ plays host to over 40 Irish and international acts, staged at 30 venues across the city, boasting an eclectic mix of old and new acts, where all styles are catered for.
I was kindly invited down by to the festival in 2024 by Gary Keogh of ‘Roller Coaster Records’ and was lucky enough to interview some of the headliners of that year’s festival, acts such as;
Hayseed Dixie - Formed in 2000, Hayseed Dixie are a Nashville based bluegrass group who are known for their covers of rock, metal and pop songs. Since the release of their debut album in 2001 the group gained notoriety for their sound & humour, leading them to have considerable airplay on many a radio show across the world, leading to them becoming a mainstay of the genre in the early 21st century.
Jeffrey Martin - Portland, Oregon is home to this singer songwriter who has gone forward into a career that has steadily built upon his insightful and sensitive songs. Jeffrey has used his talents to reflect upon the human condition in all its guises and to hold a mirror up to our humanity, our deeds and insecurities. He speaks for those on the margins of society and frequently captures the quiet dignity and the hidden depths within everyman.
Peter Case - A three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from the USA who has a most impressive resume. He was the founder of the Nerves, the very first American indie band to put together a nationwide tour and one of the very first to release their own indie EP. He then was the founder and leader of the legendary Plimsouls, an incredibly influential L.A. rock and roll band which drew praise from everyone from Elvis Costello to Tom Petty to critics nationwide.
Robert Finley - . Louisiana's Robert Finley is a singer/songwriter and guitarist delivering traditional blues and soul music with elements of R&B and gospel. He performed semi-professionally for decades before going on hiatus to better support his family. He returned to music in 2016 and issued his debut album, Age Don't Mean a Thing, on producer Bruce Watson's Big Legal Mess label. In the aftermath Finley was introduced to Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and the pair became easy collaborators. 
The Zipheads – Playing Rock'n'Roll infused punk, taking influence from the founding fathers of the 1950s like Little Richard and Chuck Berry, via the punk and new wave heroes of the 70s such as The Clash and Elvis Costello, along the way encompassing surf, swing, soul, country, folk, ska and reggae as well as most other types of music you could care to imagine into the mix.
Jeffrey Silverstein - A Jersey native with his feet now firmly planted in Portland, Jeffrey Silverstein has been making music for over a decade. From his time in Baltimore collective Secret Mountains to releasing music with Brooklyn duo Nassau, his song writing has always focused primarily on its use of instruments. He was in town with the psychedelic country super group the Cosmic Country Review.
I also spoke to music aficionados such as festival founder and owner of Cleere’s pub and venue, John Cleere and legendary music journalist, Allan Jones. An award-winning ,British music journalist and editor. He was editor of Melody Maker from 1984 to 1997 then launched Uncut magazine and for 15 years wrote a popular monthly column called Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before, based on his experiences as a music journalist in the 70s and 80s, a prosperous time for the music press. His book, Can't Stand Up For Falling Down, was the Sunday Times' Music Book of the Year 2017.
From rockabilly to folk, blues to bluegrass and everything in between, The Kilkenny roots festival serves all tastes, this documentary is a snapshot of the festival as it goes into its 26th year, this is Marble Roots.

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 10 - What does this mean for the Country?

Ah sure, we thought we’d do one for the road. So the government formation talks are over and we know broadly what shape the government will take going forward. So for our final episode in this series, we take a look at the programme for Government and how the main players FF/FG, the Healy Rae’s, the RIG 'Reginal Independent Group' have fared. Most importantly, we discuss what this all means for the country...

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 9 - The Result and the Future.

Well the results are in and it looks like the FFG are back in. We take a look at the results, turnout and fallout from the weekend gone by. Fine Gael And Fianna Fáil were at times expected to receive at least a bloody nose, instead the status quo vote is still in the majority, as 2/3rd of voters want the same. Saying that Civil War Parties Vote share is steadily going down. They didn’t win. Sinn Fein lost. We discuss what this means for Government formation and the future in Irish politics. 
This the last episode in this series of the Political Broad cast, Ger and I would like to thank everyone that has joined us over the past few weeks, its greatly appreciated.

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 8 - Election Time Baby!

It's finally Election time Baby, so this week we are joined by Max Kelly of the Galway Advertiser to discuss Galway West and Galway East. We take a look at the race, candidates and issues affecting these two constituencies. Given that the election is upon us, we take a look at the campaign as a whole and give our predictions for the winners and losers on the national level.
The Shnug: Political Broadcast is a weekly show where we will be taking a look at all things political. 

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 7 - Its a long way to Tipperary

With a week to the General Election, we are joined by Daniel Ryan of the Tipperary Star to discuss the newly redrawn constituencies. We take a look at the race, candidates and issues affecting Tipperary North and South. We also discuss the rather disappointing leader’s debate on RTE and voter apathy among younger voters.
The Shnug: Political Broadcast is a weekly show where we will be taking a look at all things political.

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 6 - Independents

This week is all about Independents, while politicians without parties are found all over Europe, but they do not garner such a large percentage of the vote as in Ireland. This is due the country’s size, proportional representation and the unique nature of Irish parish pump politics. We take a look at the notable characters that have ran for election both past and present, how Independents may affect the election and the Government that will emerge from it.
The Shnug: Political Broadcast is a new weekly show where we will be taking a look at all things political. Check us out everywhere you get podcasts. We are also on the mighty Flirt Fm every Saturday at 5pm.
Our theme tune is by Leon Stax whose new album is out now…

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 5 - The achievements and failures of our current Government

Join us this week as we briefly chat about the the Mango Mussolini, the Occupied Territories Bill, Volkswagen cuts spelling trouble for the German Economy, Voter aggression on the Campaign trail. In the meat and potatoes section, we take a deep dive on the accomplishments or lack thereof of this current Government and what that will mean when people go to the polls.
The Shnug: Political Broadcast is a new weekly show where we will be taking a look at all things political.

The Shnug Political Broadcast: Ep 4 - State of the Smaller Parties

Join us this week as we discuss the UK Budget, Killing Tony, Election Promises and the state of the smaller parties such as the Labour, Social Democrats, Aontu, People before Profit, the Far Right block and the host of Independents and how they could contribute to possible Government formation.
The Shnug: Political Broadcast is a new weekly show where we will be taking a look at all things political.