Martin Hayes

Virtuosic Irish fiddler to tour Australia in February

by Gaynor Crawford

TN174 Dec 25

Martin Hayes, virtuosic Irish fiddler, and one of the most significant talents in Irish traditional music will return to Australia in February 2026.

An Edinburgh Music Review said of Martin that he is “… a master of phrasing, able to bring out the natural beauty of a tune like ‘Aisling Gheal’.

“He outlines its contours, while shaping and re-shaping its content, introducing an element of improvisation, and never losing sight of its form.”

Martin’s special sound, his mastery of his chosen instrument, the violin, his acknowledgement of the past and his shaping of the future of the music, combine to create a formidable artistic intelligence.

He has drawn inspiration from many musical genres, but remains grounded in the music he grew up with in East County Clare.

He has the ability to place the tradition within a wider contemporary context, creating an exquisite and insightful interpretation of Irish music.

Hayes continues his mission to reveal how local musical vernacular becomes universal language.

The Irish Times said: “In the decades to come, we’ll surely talk of having seen this man in the way others talk of Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane.”

Martin Hayes’ soulful interpretations of traditional Irish music are recognised the world over for their exquisite musicality and irresistible rhythm.

Praised by the Irish Times as a musician with an “insatiable appetite for adventure”, Martin is the founder of the musical supergroup The Gloaming.

Martin tours with the band internationally and shared with them the prestigious Meteor Prize in 2014 for their debut album.

He also tours with The Common Ground Ensemble and The Martin Hayes Quartet.

Martin toured and recorded with the late guitarist Dennis Cahill for over twenty years.

They performed for President Obama at The White House in 2011.

Martin has created collaborations with extraordinary musicians in the classical, folk and contemporary music worlds.

These include the likes of Bill Frisell, Ricky Skaggs, Jordi Savall, Brooklyn Rider and the RTE Concert Orchestra.

He has also worked with many of the greatest traditional Irish musicians over the past forty years.

Martin has contributed music, both original and traditional arrangements to modern dance, theatre, film and television.

He has performed on stage with musicians such as Sting and Paul Simon, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project.

On this forthcoming Australian tour, Martin will be accompanied by Kyle Sanna.

Hailed as a “first rate” and “versatile” musician by The New Yorker, guitarist and composer Sanna performs traditional Irish music as well as jazz and improvised music, composing for ensembles, and producing recordings for many artists.

Kyle Sanna has collaborated with and performed alongside modern virtuosos like Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, and with some of the greatest living interpreters of the Irish tradition.

Together Hayes and Sanna will transform long revered melodies into pathways for profound emotional experiences.

Fostering connection between melody and human spirit, Hayes strips away musical pretence, revealing how traditional tunes can become vehicles for personal revelation.

When asked what this music means to him, Martin Hayes said: “I grew up in a household filled with music in a locality with a rich musical heritage.

“My father, PJ Hayes, and my uncle, Paddy Canny, were both highly respected fiddle players in the world of Irish music.

“My father also led the Tulla Ceili Band for most of his adult life.

“The place where I grew up had its own distinctive sound and its own take on Irish traditional music.

“The style was characterised on the one hand by a particular rhythmic lift and on the other hand by a highly expressive lyricism.

“From the very beginning, I loved this music and was eager to play.

“I got my first fiddle when I was seven and the slow process of imitation and absorption began in our kitchen with my Father as my teacher.

“In the learning process, the dominant message always coming to me from my father and lots of the finest musicians of county Clare was their idea that music must first express feeling.

“In their opinion, no amount of technical prowess could compensate for an absence of soulfulness.

“I wasn’t content to simply imitate and reproduce, I needed to decipher the deeper musical aspirations of the older musicians.

“I needed to get to the heart of this music.

“I ultimately concluded that this music at its essence is a direct and simple expression of feeling.

“The melodies are sometimes deceptively simple but almost always beautiful and the rhythm is both understated and entrancing.

“There is an innate wisdom, a kind of common sense inherent in the tunes that still continues to inform my musical journey.

“My mission is to express this musical essence in a manner that can be understood and felt by music lovers around the world.

“A fundamental driving belief for me is that the local musical vernacular can be a universal language when fully embraced.

“My engagement with the tradition, as I express it on stage, has become a process of distillation and translation.