MUIREANN BRADLEY RELEASES NEW EP ‘BLACKWOOD PEW’
Muireann Bradley shares her anticipated EP ‘Blackwood Pew’, which marks a defining new chapter for the Irish folk and blues prodigy. The new collection follows her acclaimed 2024 debut I Kept These Old Blues and introduces Muireann as a songwriter for the first time, pairing her original compositions with fresh reworkings of classics that feel every bit as enduring as the tradition that inspired them.
From the themes of longing that shape ‘Not Going Back’ to the evocative, Velvet Underground-inspired ‘Clementine’, the record draws on a lifetime immersed in ragtime blues, American old-time and country sounds, alongside the Irish trad music Muireann grew up with. It feels like a door opening onto new ground; familiar in its roots, yet stepping into something more expansive.
Muireann says, “Clementine was a collaboration written almost entirely in the studio with producer Declan Gaffney and Ella Walker (Wildes) and is completely different from anything I’ve done before. I was after a dreamy kind of Velvet Underground sort of feel. After we demo-ed the song I took it home and made some changes until I was happy. It’s not a tune I’d play live solo but it’s something different. I like how it turned out.”
Released alongside Blackwood Pew is the physical double EP Rose Dogs & Blackwood Pew, pairing the new collection with all five tracks from her acclaimed 2025 EP, Rose Dogs. To celebrate the physical release of the record, Muireann embarks on a run of dates in UK record shops – see the full in-store tour routing below, including a show at Rough Trade East this Sunday October 25th. She will also headline Stone Nest in London as part of EFG London Jazz Festival on Friday November 13th.
Previously released tracks from the EP include ‘Dancing On My Grave’, her gorgeous take on Daniel Johnston’s seminal ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’ and her other original single ‘Not Going Back’. The EP takes its name from the guitar at the heart of every recording. Handcrafted from Australian Blackwood reclaimed from a 200-year-old church pew in Tasmania, it was gifted to Muireann by a fan who, having seen her perform, was inspired to build her a custom instrument.
Her live reputation has only continued to grow. Muireann has sold out headline shows on both sides of the Atlantic and, last month, was handpicked by Fontaines D.C.’s Tom Coll and folk collective Broadside Hacks to top the sold-out bill at Féile Moth, an Irish cultural festival at MOTH Club in London. She has also supported Brooke Combe at KOKO, joined Jeff Goldblum on select live dates, and performed as part of the star-studded Harvest Moon Gathering in California alongside Neil Young, Lana Del Rey and Beck.
With Blackwood Pew, Muireann’s story shifts. These songs no longer simply inhabit the perspectives of the artists who inspired her, but reveal a singular songwriter as she builds a body of work that can stand alongside them.
Blackwood Pew tracklist:
- Last Kind Words Blues
- Dancing On My Grave
- True Love Will Find You in the End
- Clementine
- I Want You
- Not Going Back
See Muireann Bradley live:
November 7th – Take Root Festival, Groningen, Netherlands
November 13th – Stone Nest, London, UK (as part of EFG London Jazz Festival)
In-Store Tour:
Sun Oct 25th – Rough Trade East, London
Mon Oct 26th – Truck Store, Oxford
Mon Oct 26th – Rough Trade, Bristol
Tues Oct 27th – Jacaranda, Liverpool
Wed Oct 28th – Wax & Bean, Manchester
Wed Oct 28th – Crash Records, Leeds
Thurs Oct 29th – Vinilo, Southampton
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