EMO-ROCKERS Anna’s Anchor the musical project of Marty Ryan held what might be the only live music experience to take place in Limerick during Level 5 lockdown.
Like many in Limerick the three bridges walk around the city became a daily ritual for the songwriter during the Summer lockdown. From there Marty was inspired to write songs telling a story that takes in all of the landmarks of the Shannon riverfront. Those songs make up the new album from Anna’s Anchor called ‘A Glorious Ruction’ due for release in 2021.
In early November Anna’s Anchor held an interactive listening event in the city. With no return to live music in the near future Marty created a different musical experience which people could still engage with regardless of what restrictions are put in place.
The unique part of this album ‘A Glorious Ruction’ is that each song is timed to a specific walk around the city centre and takes in the landscape of the river Shannon as a canvas for the story which the album is telling.
This project is not the first time that locations have inspired the Limerick musician. Anna’s Anchor released an album, ‘The Islands’ based on an eight week tour of the islands of the west coast of Ireland in 2015. Since then Marty has built a loyal international following from relentless touring and album releases.
Speaking on the recent listening event, Marty reported to Limerick Post that the event sold out in a matter of hours.
“”During the first lockdown when we had to cancel essentially a year’s worth of touring, I found myself taking in the “Three Bridges Walk” around Limerick pretty much every night and came up with the idea of our next album being told through the eyes of someone taking this walk.
“I then thought, how could this still be experienced in a unique way when it’s done for our fans? That’s when the idea of timing each song specifically to the walk and hosting an event where our followers could partake in it, months before the album comes out, would be a special thing.”
Funded by the Creative Ireland, Made in Limerick fund, the event sold out within a couple of hours of being announced with this being the only musical experience that
people will have in the real world for another number of weeks, the reception was
overwhelming.
One participant said, “It was like having a piece of art made just for you as you walked along. Something like that makes you look at things with fresher eyes doesn’t it?”.
We will have to wait until 2021 to hear and experience the album when it is publicly released. However it is encouraging to see that from the heart of Limerick City, Anna’s Anchor have shown great ingenuity. There are still plenty of ways for the music industry to adjust to the difficult cards it has been dealt.
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