Pierce Turner.
By Peter McDermott
Pierce Turner is all set to do his next New York gig. And while he knows the when and the where, he’s yet to discover with whom.
“I would love to find two blokes with a good sense of humor who can sing with me,” Turner said. “I'm going to shake up some Clancy Brothers songs – should be fun.”
The tickets are already on sale for Joe’s Pub for St. Patrick’s Day. That allows some fans plenty of time “to plan the babysitter,” the Wexford songster said, and for others to organize someone “to wheel them in.”
Now he’s on the search to find someone with stage experience. He suggested, for instance, the March 17 show might suit an actor.
Turner is always up for trying a new approach, which his fans don’t believe is absolutely necessary. They include the leading American composer Philip Glass, with whom he’s worked on stage, and some of Ireland’s most celebrated contemporary writers.
“Pierce Turner is a storyteller, soul man, poet, heartbreaker, with the voice of a choirboy high on rocket fuel,” novelist Joseph O’Connor said. “His songs sound like nobody else's. A true and beautiful and utterly unique artist.”
Another, Kevin Barry, has written: "For many a strange moon, Pierce Turner has been creating some of the most indescribably odd and luminous and beautiful music anywhere. For the Old Weird Ireland, he is something close to a national treasure."
While Eoin Colfer, who is also from Wexford, has gone a step further by saying the musician’s “lyricism has had a huge influence on my writing. He is a one of a kind genius poet. I wish I had never heard him so I could listen for the first time. Pierce is the only songwriter I know who has made me laugh and cry during the same song.”
To contact Pierce Turner, email claregturner at gmail.com. For more information about him and his music go to his website here.
