Macdara Yeates presents THE MEGAPHONE PROJECT

With musical performances from a diverse range of singers, The Megaphone Project aims to recreate the performances of John Martin by pitching a pop-up megaphone and soap box at various outdoor markets in the Dublin area for short 30-minute performances

AThe Megaphone Project is a pop-up performance series exploring Irish traditional song in the modern cityscape.

Curated by traditional singer Macdara Yeates, the project takes inspiration from the archival recordings of John Martin, the charismatic street singer who travelled the fairs of Ireland in the 1950s selling ballad sheets using a large megaphone as an aid to performance. A seemingly incongruous and anachronistic tool, Martin’s use of megaphone technology exemplifies not only the decline of the Irish street singing tradition, when the ambient noise of Irish streets rose exponentially with the introduction of cars and motor engines, but also the ingenuity and innovation of the traditional ballad singer developing his craft as progress threatens his way of life.

Bringing together a diverse range of singers, The Megaphone Project aims to recreate the performances of John Martin by pitching a pop-up megaphone and soap box at various outdoor markets in the Dublin area for short 30-minute performances, all the while reintroducing the historical practice of traditional singing to the modern streetscape.

Free Event