Imagine going to an open mic on a Monday night to catch a glimpse at some of Dublin's finest singer songwriters, to have Mick Pyro pop his head in through the open window behind the performance area and scream ''I'm loving the sound lads'', and then to pop in and perform one of his many incredible songs. Yep, that's the type of carry on that goes on at The Cycle Sessions. The night is hosted by singer songwriter Tony McLaughlan and is held every Monday in one of Dublin's most famous music watering holes, Whelans.
Walking through the doors of Whelans, to be surrounded by photographs of musicians and bands that have performed within these very walls, legends of music that have made homes among so many record collections throughout the world, the likes of Luke Kelly and The Dubliners, Damien Dempsey, Glen Hansard, Jeff Buckley, Arctic Monkey's, Bloc Party and Townes Van Zandt, the list goes on and on. In that room you can still feel their presence, as if they left a little piece of themselves behind, a space upon the walls where they themselves have now become the audience of a new generation of musicians looking to follow in their foot steps and this is why performing in Whelans is so iconic.
For over 7 years Song Cycle was curated by John Byrne who also hosted The Apollo Sessions in The Bleeding Horse, but he made the sad announcement that both sessions would not be returning during the lockdown in 2020. The center of Dublin was going through a dry spell of places for musicians to go and share some new material they've been working on, that was until August 2023 when Tony McLaughlin, fresh out of a phone box, with his cape swaying in the fumes from a passing 122 came flying to the rescue.
''There was a lack of singer songwriter nights around and I set it back up as a place to perform myself. It's gotten so busy with so many brilliant musicians dropping in I don't even have a chance to perform anymore, it goes to show the talent out there''
Tony has a rich musical background, performing mandolin with the likes of Junior Brother and The Young Folk, playing Bass with prog rock band The Underachievers and giving his fellow musicians great deals on some of the best equipment money can buy. There's a little plug for the Music Makers shop for ya Tony. When taking the reins of Song Cycle and to try reach a wider audience, Tony moved it from the room to the left knowing as Little Whelans to the more accessible front bar. In February of this year, the once all acoustic, no plug in session had finally introduced a mic, amps and a keyboard that no one ever plays, oh except for that one guy, Andy Roe.
Before every song Tony has a little chat with the musicians, he gets to know a little about them, what they're going to perform and sometimes this little chat turns into some of the funniest banter you could get on a Monday night, one such chat with a musician only known as 'Nightshade'. For me to try and explain it would not do it justice, it's one of those moments where you had to be there to get it, which is all the more reason to get your arse down to Whelans on a Monday night.
''Make sure you mention Nightshade, Frowning Hours, Suzanne Ratigan, Aonair, Vinny from Strutter, Jack Long...''
Tony had plenty more shout outs for me to mention and it goes to show the amount of incredible talent that is on offer at the Song Cycle, not only is Tony an amazing musician and host, he is also a true fan of each performer that plants their arse on that song seat and leaves a little piece of themselves behind, just like those legends before them and that is what separates this singer songwriter night from all the rest.
Keith Eastwood