Music from the Heart

Lonesome George are a four-piece ensemble of songwriters and traditional musicians from Belfast with a talent for weaving activism and social philosophy into their wholesome and engaging version of folk-fusion. Having always recorded and released their own music at home, the summer of 2021 sees them gradually releasing tracks from a new album as we all wait for live music to re-enter the building. At the heart of the project are the two songwriters, Joe Campbell-McArdle and Myles McCormack; two old friends who approached traditional music at the same time and have learned alongside one another. They are joined by Stephen Loughran, a flute player and prolific composer, and Dermot Moynagh, whose contemporary style on the bodhran has brought him all round the world and established him as one of the best percussionists in Belfast.

Lonesome George was the last of his species; a Pinta island (one of the Galapagos island's off the coast of Ecuador) tortoise. He was famous for being one of the rarest creatures in the world; and as such was a symbol for many environmental conservationists. No one was quite sure what age he was, and this timelessness was of course amplified by his species; the tortoise has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. This meeting of old and new worlds exists as a metaphor for what the band have created; drawing on the ancient traditions of Ireland and combining them with modern influences and analysis. This gentle vegetarian giant has been the poster boy for the band, as they espouse the values of environmentalism and soundness!

Their latest single The Lying Devil is deeply seeded in trad music, driven by flute and bodhrán tones. The soothing dreamy melody carries the listener away to the coast, lets the breeze touch the skin and the reel towards the second half of the song will make the feet dance along.

Myles McCormack shares the inspiration behind the song "Born out of frustration with the churches influence in the country, the song expresses a common philosophy among younger generations, of atheism or disillusionment. The lyrics describe a scene in which someone is threatening hell and damnation (the lying devil) and culminate in the succinct chorus “Hell, my hell is heaven as well...” in which the chords become suitably dark or light depending on the words.Whilst being essentially critical of the churches role in todays world, 'The Lying Devil' ultimately lands on a tone of acceptance and compassion around how everyone is entitled to their own belief and interpretation of these indescribable things,"

"It wasn’t fear that drove this pessimist
But a cruel kind of joy
For he believed that he was Lucifer
That poor unstable boy"