Niall Breslin brings live performance to Tipperary

Irish musician Niall Breslin recently spoke to the Tipperary Live ahead of his upcoming performance at The Source Arts Centre in Thurles on October 3, where he will bring his new show, The Place That Has Never Been Wounded, to Tipperary audiences.

Following a sold-out national run last year, the show has continued to develop through live performance, with Niall saying the show has now become increasingly polished and immersive. Looking back at the early performances, he describes the first tour as a period of finding their feet.

“We know exactly the type of show it is, the impact it has, how the audience responds to it, all that stuff.”

For Niall, that connection with the audience is one of the most rewarding aspects of the project.

“There is a particular atmosphere created in the room during a live show,” he explains, with the music offering audiences something increasingly valuable in a world that can often feel overwhelming.

“It’s probably the best word to describe it is, you know, a lot of people get quite a release from it,” he says.

“It’s quite an escape from the utter chaos that we’ve been served every single day.”

The classical element of the show also has a deeply personal resonance for Niall.

Although he has spent many years performing with bands, his musical roots lie in classical music. He also believes there is something particularly powerful about experiencing live musicians performing together in a theatre, especially at a time when technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly shaping how people experience art.

“It’s a very unique experience for people to be in a room with a quartet and a piano,” he says. “There’s just nothing like it. It’s completely organic.

“At a time when you’re looking at AI and you’re looking at everything that’s fake, when you see musicians playing together and locked in, it’s an indication that AI might be able to do certain things, but we’ll never do that.”

When asking what audiences in Thurles can expect on the night, Niall says it’s a chance to escape.

“If you’re finding it a bit overwhelming, like I am, and most people are, then this is an excuse to give yourself 90 minutes to just escape that and just to connect back into the greater part of you.”

For those heading to Source Arts Centre on October 3 Niall’s message is to leave the chaos outside and allow the music to take over for 90 minutes.