On Saturday 19th April (Easter Saturday) the top class American singer and songwriter Jim Page will perform at The Westbridge in Miltown Malbay, as part of his tour of Ireland.
Some other very special guests will also be appearing, and the concert is a fundraiser for the humanitarian organisation Medicin San Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) who at present have over 1,000 staff in Gaza to provide vital medical assistance for all civilians caught up in the conflict.
Some of Jim’s songs have been covered by his old friend Christy Moore, who has said: “Every now and again I encounter a singer who gives me a glimmer of hope. Jim Page carries the light.”
Jim’s song “Palestine” appears on Christy’s latest album “A Terrible Beauty” – “I was playing a Concert for Medicin San Frontiers in Gaza and received this song from Jim. I continued to sing it at subsequent gigs and received permission from Jim to record it. “Palestine” has been overwhelmingly well received every time I sing it.”
Another Jim Page composition – “Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette” – was recorded by Christy with the legendary Irish band Moving Hearts, entering the charts at number one – and staying there. Christy has continued to feature this song in concert to this day. Many others have recorded Jim’s songs. including Dick Gaughan, Roy Bailey, and The Doobie Brothers.
Jim has toured with Planxty and Dick Gaughan amongst others, and shared the stage with Donal Lunny, Bonnie Raitt, the Woodstock festival legend Barry “The Fish” Melton, and Robert Hunter, the lyricist for The Grateful Dead) and many more.
Jim made his first album in 1975, and 23 more full length albums followed. He’s also appeared on at least a dozen compilation albums. Jim’s most recent album, 2024’s “The Time Is Now” shows him at the top of his game.
When Jim was 20 he hitched across country in the wintertime, three thousand miles from San Francisco to New York City to the fabled Greenwich Village area, looking to find his own voice. Living on rooftops, borrowing guitars, playing everywhere he could, he stayed for a year until heading west to Seattle, which remains his home. He played the U.K’s prestigious Cambridge Folk Festival in 1977, and then commenced touring relentlessly, including Ireland, UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium. where he also made numerous radio and TV appearances.
Jim Page sings of politics and romance, adventure and comedy, tragedy, history, and meditations on life, death and the absurd. His improvisations are legendary, and if he hasn’t sung about it’s because he was too busy singing about something else. Jim was born in the lower Bay Area of San Francisco, growing up during the great renaissance of the 1960s, when music, theatre, poetry were mixed together with politics.
The Bay Area also gave birth to such bands as Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe & The Fish, and The Grateful Dead – bands who blurred the lines between folk song and rock music. You can still hear this in Jim’s music; his choice of subject matter, and masterly use of imagery, rhythm and phrasing. His other early influences were country blues singers like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Blind Willie McTell, and singer songwriters like Buffy Sainte Marie and the young Bob Dylan.
Following his New York sojourn, Jim moved to Seattle, where he soon became a fixture in every theatre, cafe, and rock and roll bar, playing solo, in a folk trio with Tommy Hayes and Orville Johnson, and in a rock and roll band. As a busker, every street corner was his stage – until a Police officer stopped him as he didn’t have a permit. However, Jim went to the City Council, and persuaded them overturn an outdated law banning street music. As a result for the past 50 years Seattle City Council promotes The Seattle Busking Festival.
At “The Westbridge” Jim will be supported by some special guests, including top singer and whistle player Katie Theasby accompanied by Dave Sanders (of Shashkeen) & Felim Collins. Tim Dennehy (who has also written a song recorded by Christy Moore) and Christy’s sister Anne Rynne will also be appearing
The concert at The Westbridge in Miltown Malbay will commence at 8 p.m, on Saturday, April 19th.
Tickets are available now at just 10 euros from the bar or e mail [email protected] to reserve.