Indie band Amazing Apples set for return to Athlone
Indie/folk band Amazing Apples will make their return to Athlone with a performance in The Venue, on Church Street, on Saturday, August 31.
The band, from Galway, is made up of five members including drummer Brian Grace, guitarist Cathal Leonard, violin player Eamonn Rabbitte, and brothers Darragh Crehan and Cian Crehan.
Ahead of their appearance at The Venue, Brian Grace chatted to us about the band's musical journey to date.
“We used to play in Athlone a lot,” said Brian, adding that he has some fond memories of those smaller gigs. “We used to play in Scribes in the college which was just wild, and we used to play in The Snug – which is quite a small venue but it was mad. It was more fun than anything.”
When asked what the audience can expect from their performance in The Venue, Brian said: “A very lively and energetic set, with a mixture of all kinds of music.”
Whilst the band have been writing their own music since 2011, they still can't resist the joy of playing the occasional cover song. Brian said that they take inspiration from a host of different places, as each of the band members bring their own interests to the table.
“Everyone likes different music. Cathal, our guitarist, loves American Country music, and our violin player, Eamonn, is classically trained so he brings that in.
"We'd have a lot of different influences from Irish music, to rock. We're inspired by Mumford & Sons and The Waterboys - lots of different things," he said.
The band released their first EP '3 or 4 shoes' in 2012 which went to number 1 in the Irish iTunes charts. Their 2015 debut album, titled 'A Little Sense', went straight to number 3 in the Irish independent charts, and to number 27 overall on the official Irish charts.
The band were planning to release a new EP in recent years, but the pandemic steered their plans off course. When asked by the Westmeath Independent if they have any plans for new releases, Brian Grace: “We're looking forward to writing new music at the end of this year.”
Amazing Apples have played at many renowned festivals like Electric Picnic, and Sea Sessions, and have played support for huge names including The Saw Doctors, The Coronas, Sharon Shannon and Mundy. They have also toured New York, Boston, UK, Romania and Switzerland.
Amazing Apples will perform in The Venue on August 31 at 10.30pm. Tickets, priced €10, plus booking fee, are available online at universe.com