Crew-sing to glory
There’s fierce excitement within Cork’s music community at the moment as one of the city’s most prolific music hubs gets ready for a once in a lifetime collaborative show.
The Kabin Studio, a music and creative hub based in Knocknaheeny, has announced a new collaborative project with Irish National Opera (INO) called ‘The Sound of the Northside’ which will culminate in a one-off show at The Everyman on 22 July.
Still enjoying the viral success of their rap anthem ‘The Spark’ with the Lisdoonvarna Crew, the Kabin Crew and its approximately 30 members have been working hard to create specially tailored arrangements of their music for the show.
Special guests on the night, the Lisdoonvarna Crew, will join the Kabin Crew for a rendition of ‘The Spark’ which has garnered millions of views online since it was released for Cruinniú na nÓg 2024.
A dynamic a not-for-profit community group, the Kabin Crew’s latest initiative is aimed at fostering creativity, collaboration and community spirit bringing young people together to perform with an orchestra.
Kabin Studio Creative Director, Garry McCarthy, said: “Being able to reimagine the work, spoken word, and the songs created by the young people has been an unbelievably inspiring, educational, and rewarding experience. It's also been an amazing way for us to push our boundaries, step out of our comfort zones, and try something new, bringing a theatrical element to the music that is created at the Kabin.”
Co-director, Zoe Ní Riordáin, added: “Kabin Crew’s music is full of confidence, lyrical skill, humour, and massive ambition. Music like this can only be made in an environment full of love, support, and hard work.”
Kabin Crew participant Rosaleen said: “Working on this show has been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“It’s brilliant to see the Kabin experiment in the realm of theatre, I’m really looking forward to seeing everything come together and being able to perform on the Everyman stage again!”
The show is directed by the innovative duo One Two One Two, aka Maud Lee and Zoe Ní Riordáin, who are known for dramatising their own music for theatre. Music direction is by Rory McGovern, with music arrangement by Áine Delany and lighting design by Stephen Dodd. 'The Sound of the Northside' will be performed live under the baton of conductor Medb Brereton Hurley.
‘The Sound of the Northside’ is on in The Everyman, Cork at 7pm on 22 July. Tickets are €13 and are available from everymancork.com. For more information on Kabin Crew, visit thekabin.ie and for information on Irish National Opera visit irishnationalopera.ie.