“One of the few artists who can do no wrong whatsoever.” – BBC Radio 2

Ireland’s internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy announces her new album ‘The Thomas Moore Project’, released July 28 th 2017. The album marks a significant first step in Eleanor’s lifelong journey discovering the wonderful songs and extraordinary life of Thomas Moore. Produced and arranged by Eleanor, who is best known for her songs ‘Sophie’ and the Irish standard ‘Only A Woman’s Heart’, which this year celebrates its 25 th anniversary, the album more than pays homage to one of the Georgian era’s most beloved writers and entertainers. The Thomas Moore Project celebrates and revitalises some of the lesser and indeed well known material by the said luminary such as Oft In The Stilly Night, The Minstrel Boy and The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls.

Says Eleanor of the album: “I hope you will enjoy this and join me. My approach is intentionally different. I needed to go further than just pay homage so my arrangements for this choice of 11 songs are of this century”. I’m not sure when I began my intriguing quest but I do remember singing Thomas Moore songs in a choir when I was around nine years of age. My fascination is not just with his music but also with his own place in history in a fantastic artistic period with contrasting social and political upheaval in Europe and Ireland. My journey continues.

Eleanor performs vocals, guitars, strings and keyboards on the album and recruited Damon Butcher from The Beautiful South on keyboards, Eamonn Nolan from The RTE Concert Orchestra on flugelhorn, Eoghan O ‘Neill from Moving Hearts, Chris Rea and Riverdance on bass and Guy Rickerby from Riverdance, Duke Special and The RTE Concert Orchestra on drums and percussion. The musicianship on the album echoes throughout every verse and chorus along with McEvoy’s rich, lilting voice and beautiful playing.

Now based in Wexford, Dublin-born McEvoy’s career originally started as a session musician, which included a long stint with The Irish National Symphony Orchestra and with The Mary Black Band McEvoy decided to develop her own career, and quickly had the title track on The Woman’s Heart compilation And a US record deal with Geffen Records.

McEvoy was soon touring the world to promote her eponymous debut album for Geffen, which went on to sell 250,000 copies. At the same time, ‘A Woman’s Heart’ entered the Irish charts, selling over 750,000 copies – and remains one of Ireland’s biggest selling albums of all-time. These successes established McEvoy as one of Ireland’s biggest stars, launching a career that has since seen her release twelve studio albums and tour the world.

She has been on the road for 2 years with her show Naked…Live and this year has gone from being a long time Board member of IMRO to being its Chairman July 29 th in The Theatre Royal, Waterford. (Performing songs from Naked Music Tour & album)

ELEANOR MCEVOY – Announces New Single “Whisper A Prayer To The Moon” Out Sept 9^th

Taken from album ‘Naked Music’ which is out now + Announces new Book ‘Naked Music”!

 “Generously soulful”- Hotpress 

“..simmers and nourishes with reliable ease” – Irish Times 

“Top Class” Sunday Times

Eleanor McEvoy continues her ‘Naked… Live’ tour, which will see her embark on dates across Ireland, Spain, Germany, Australia Scotland with more territories to be added in the UK and elsewhere in 2017. Naked Music is Eleanor’s new album, her music played in solitude in a beautiful farm recording studio in Norfolk, England. The recordings became a collaboration with famed British artist Chris Gollon. The Purchase of a Chris Gollon painting, and the subsequent meeting and conversations with the Artist, led to the Title Naked Music. With this focus, 4 canvasses were painted for the album artwork, then the tour de force Naked Music The Exhibition in Gallery Different in Trendy Fitzrovia London. The opening night was a special concert by Eleanor playing Naked… Live surrounded by 24 paintings inspired by the songs and titles of the album.

Naked… Live sees this solitary exploration of the best of her catalogue in the simple engaging starkness of her own performance. She walks in a single pool of light the stage is set with her electric guitar, acoustic guitar, violin, piano and a small amp. What follows, enthralled houses across Ireland and the UK. Referred to by a critic as “musical stand-up” The previous ALONE show entranced audiences with her singing, talking, anecdotes and playing, using her own songs and insightful interpretations of other writers (Chuck Berry, Georges Moustaki, Brian Wilson…).

+ ELEANOR MCEVOY PUBLISHES NAKED MUSIC, HER FIRST EVER SONGBOOK – Out Aug 30th 

Eleanor McEvoy is to publish Naked Music, her first ever songbook. Entitled ‘Naked Music-The Songbook’, the unique publication is a pioneering collaboration between McEvoy and the acclaimed English painter Chris Gollon. It includes lyrics and melodies from the songs on McEvoy’s 2016 album Naked Music, alongside 24 of Gollon’s stunning paintings inspired by the music on that album.

The project has already been invited to headline the Louder Than Words Festival in Manchester in November 2016.

As McEvoy herself explains, “It’s probably every songwriters’ ambition, to publish a songbook of their works, but I deferred taking the traditional route and sought something more challenging. That came when the positive response to Chris Gollon’s paintings on the cover of my album Naked Music inspired me to want to

develop the collaboration further. Working on Naked Music-The Songbook with Chris was both daunting and challenging, but it was also an entirely enriching experience.”

With starkly intimate photographs of McEvoy taken by Shane McCarthy, Naked Music-The Songbook also features an introductory essay by best-selling author Jackie Hayden exploring the nature of such collaborations, alongside interviews with both Gollon and McEvoy about the evolution of their boundary- crossing partnership. Art aficionados have already singled out Gollon’s interpretations of McEvoy’s recordings of ‘Deliver Me’, ‘Please Heart You’re Killing Me’, ‘Whisper a Prayer to the Moon’ and her inventive reworking of Thomas Moore’s ‘Oft In the Stilly Night’ for special attention.

Eleanor’s history is well documented at this point, a difficult childhood in the emerging dreary 1960s Dublin. The light at the end of the tunnel was the music brought to her and played by her elder siblings. So by the age of 14, she was winning violin competitions (the Oireachtas), playing in youth orchestras, and in folk groups. Sufficient musical acumen and sufficient grades, earned her a place in Trinity College Dublin’s music degree course. From there she went on to a parallel career of playing in Ireland’s Symphony Orchestra and being a band and session musician for Greats including Phil Coulter and Mary Black, eventually the need to do her own music won out and she was propelled into orbit by the success of Woman’s Heart and a US record deal. This trajectory continues to this day with the wonderful musical intimacy of her show Naked… Live, featuring her own music   as well as co-writes with the likes of Lloyd Cole and Rodney Crowell.

Sept Irish Tour dates: (for a list of European dates see website)

Fri 2^nd Alley Theatre, Strabane, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Fri 9^th Glor, Ennis, Co Clare, Ireland

Sat 10^th First Fruits Arts Centre, Watergrasshill, Co Cork

ELEANOR McEVOY- NAKED MUSIC – The Songbook – with paintings by Chris Gollon is available in

selected stores nationwide and online at hotpress.com/shop at €16.95 / £16:00 from Aug 30th.