The renowned poet Stephen James Smith is back to MC and curate the programme. Therapy Sessions is a staple of the First Fortnight Festival, and promises an evening of music, spoken word and positivity. Stephen will be joined by a variety of wonderful artists in a night that is not to be missed!

“Therapy Sessions is a powerful, moving, reciprocal dynamic of connectivity. A very special bond that cannot be emulated online and I am very excited for us all to be able to witness once again, the special moments this event gifts us all.”

-Stephen James Smith

Suitable for age 18+

Buddy Wakefield 

Buddy Wakefield is an American spoken word artist, a three-time poetry slam world champion, and the most toured performance poet in history. His works have been released by Strange Famous Records, Righteous Babe Records, and Write Bloody Publishing. 

Steo Wall 

Steo Wall is an emerging talent on the Irish music scene, a striking wordsmith with a unique musical style. His live sets have been described as pure alchemy. Steo has an eclectic taste to his music which shines through the multi-genre array of songs at his disposal. With a mix of spoken word and folk inspired melodies all woven to an acoustic groove, Steo is bringing something new, fresh and exciting. From a young age he was always fascinated with poetry and melody and loved to bend words to his will. 7 years ago Dublin born Steo packed a bag and headed out West to immerse himself in the vibrant local music scene of North Clare. Having honed his craft, Steo entered in to Malbay recording studios in 2016 and set about writing and recording his debut album Where I’m From! Having shared a stage with Damien Dempsey on tour in 2016, Damo quickly became a fan of Steo’s work calling it Irish soul music and featuring on the first single release called, What’s Wrong With The World Ma? 

After penning a love song for his unborn child, Steo caught the attention of noted Irish folk singer Luka Bloom who quickly became Steo’s mentor, featuring and co producing on the album. 

As they say, it takes a community to raise an album so Steo was blessed to have a host of other extremely talented local musicians playing on the album, Grammy award winner Davy Spillane, Jimmy Higgins, Adam Shapiro, Jon O’Connell, Martin O’Malley, Sean O’Malley, Katie Theasby and Davog Rinn, Jacinta Sheerin and Adam Lucas Wall. All helped Steo to make the best album he possibly could. 

It’s Steo’s wish to bring his collection of stories to as many listeners as he can and he looks forward to meeting you all along the musical road. 

Toshín 

Founded in 2016, Toshín have evolved over the last four years into the vibrant 6-piece it is today. Taking inspiration from a variety of music spanning from early Motown to modern soul/RnB artists such as Tank and the Bangas and Anderson .Paak, their original songs can be put into an incredibly wide range of genres. This is thanks to lead vocalist Tosin Bankole, guitarist Taran Plouzane-Brady and help from various collaborators, including Lisa Rogers (Girlfriend) and Ele Breslin (Zapho). 

Their exhilarating live shows span from chilled out, heartfelt soul to all-out James Brown-esque funky goodness, guaranteed to have any crowd dancing. Toshín have played some amazing festival shows including Beatyard festival (2019), Electric Picnic (2019), Body & Soul Main Stage (2019), and Music Makers Festival UK (2019). In 2019 Toshín released their debut EP ‘Get Your Life’, which received high appraisal from John Barker, presenter of 98FM’s Totally Irish, and embarked on their first ever tour around Ireland. With the pandemic now behind us, Toshín are set for a big 2022 ahead with new music in the pipeline and a string of key festival and venue gigs. 

Les SalAmandas   

Mixing reflective lyrics and beautiful harmonies Les SalAmandas are releasing their debut album, ‘There’s A Sea Between Us ’ in February 2023, a collection of songs they have been working on over the last 3 years and they recorded with Daniel Ledwell (award winning producer) last year in Nova Scotia, Canada. The album includes their singles ‘Now Is The Time’, ‘Mouldy’ and ‘Gold (Fall With The Gun). The Irish-French indie-folk act have been performing around the country for the last 2 years, sharing stages with artists such as Mick Flannery, Gemma Hayes, Paul Noonan and Wallis Bird and this summer were invited to play festivals such as Body & Soul, Doolin Folk Festival, Coughlans Live and Vantastival. They have been recently nominated at the RTE Radio 1 Folk Awards in the ‘Best emerging artists’ category.