Southeast Ireland’s TULUA Announces Canadian Tour + Ignites the Dance Floor With Blistering New Single “Michael Relihan’s / Rigney’s / Cap and Bells (Reels)”
Southeast Ireland’s TULUA come out swinging with “Michael Relihan’s / Rigney’s / Cap and Bells (Reels),” a blazing three tune set that rips straight through the opening of their acclaimed second album, In The Snug, out now. This is a band lighting the fuse and letting it run, “Michael Relihan’s” reel kicks the door open, “Rigney’s Reel,” a tune made legendary by the playing of Paddy O’Brien, keeps the energy climbing, and the set explodes into its finish with “Cap and Bells,” a Josephine Keegan tune the band picked up halfway across the world during an unforgettable 6 a.m. kitchen session with fellow traditional players while touring Australia. Evan O’Grady joins the fray on bodhrán, driving the whole set forward with relentless, foot-stomping momentum.
In The Snug is the sound of a band throwing everything they have at the tape. Early in 2026, TULUA disappeared into the Comeragh Mountains in Waterford, holed up in a tiny studio carved out of an old cow shed overlooking the valley, and over an electric, almost two-week stretch, they tracked all 12 songs live and together under one roof, no safety net, just four musicians chasing the take. The result is a record that swings from history to legend to pure invention without ever losing its nerve. “Dunlavin Green” resurrects the harrowing 1798 massacre of 36 Irishmen in County Wicklow with real weight and urgency, “The Cliffs of Cullenstown” takes a century old local poem and gives it a melody built to last, and “Valo,” a tune by a Finnish accordion player, was learned from scratch and nailed on the very day they recorded it. Guitarist Cian O’Grady throws three blistering original compositions into the mix, including “Ebb and Flow,” torn straight from his childhood on the coast.
“What makes this album special is the traditional roots that are deep within the music and songs, which are part of our daily lives in Ireland,” the band says. “It is songs from our area that are shared in kitchens and snugs, tunes that are written and shared by friends from afar and in old bars, a moment to tap into the never-ending repertoire of traditional Irish music that binds so many of us together.”
In The Snug features Kayleigh Moran tearing it up on fiddle and vocals, Diarmaid Murphy on flute, low whistle and mandolin, Ella McGrory on keyboard, piano and synth bass, and Cian O’Grady on guitar, Irish bouzouki and backing vocals, joined by guest firepower from Evan O’Grady and Donnchadh Gough on bodhrán and Billy Sutton on shaker. The album was recorded by Benny McCarthy at Doon Studios in County Waterford, with additional recording by Neil McGrory at Macruari Audio in Donegal, mixed by Billy Sutton in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and mastered by Aidan Foley at Masterlabs in Roscommon.
Since bursting onto the scene in 2019, Tulua, whose name translates to “tribe of many paths,” have rocketed into position as one of the most electrifying young acts in Irish traditional music today with one of the most acclaimed Irish singers of their generation at the forefront, Kayleigh Moran. The Irish Independent has called them “one of the hottest young prospects in traditional Irish music,” Irish Music Magazine praised their “true bond and empathy,” and the National Celtic Folk Festival went even further, calling their sound “music that transcends the mind.”
TULUA’s self-funded 2023 debut album, ‘No Coming No Going,’ written, recorded, mixed, mastered and released in a lightning-fast six months, has already sold more than 5,000 copies and smashed past 80,000 streams on Spotify. Since then, the band has torn across seven countries on three continents, landing official showcase slots at the 2025 Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal and the National Celtic Folk Festival in Australia, and lighting up major stages at Stan Rogers Festival, Goderich Celtic Roots Festival, Milwaukee Irish Fest, Lorient Festival, and many more all while sharing bills with heavyweights like Beoga, Dervish, De Dannan, Atlantic Arc, Fergal Scahill and Cormac Begley. In 2024, Creative Ireland and Wexford County Council handed the band an even bigger canvas, commissioning an original multicultural, multidisciplinary work telling the story of migrants seeking safety in other countries.
Now Tulua brings that same explosive energy to Canada, launching an ambitious, coast to coast run of tour dates this fall and winter that promises to be their biggest and boldest yet.
Hi, Cian! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hey everyone, we’re Tulua, a 4 piece traditional Irish music ensemble from Ireland with one of the most amazing young Irish singers to bring us into the world of songs. We grew up playing music together in our local village, and now bring this upbringing and background to big stages and small snugs. We love sharing who we are and what we consistently experience within the Irish music scene everyday here in Ireland.
“Michael Relihan’s / Rigney’s / Cap and Bells” feels almost designed to capture the energy of a live TULUA show. What made these three reels belong together, and what are you listening for when you decide one tune should flow into the next?
Our single “Michael Relihans…” Is our most favourite to play at our live shows, it usually starts our set off and sets us up nicely. These tunes have been evolving over the past few years, and just came together one evening we were messing around at home. They sounded a lot different but the energy of each tune compliments each other and feels like a journey throughout.
“Cap and Bells” came to you during a six a.m. kitchen session while touring Australia. What do those informal, late-night sessions give traditional music that you simply can’t recreate in a rehearsal room?
These informal late night sessions are the essence of Irish music, as well as beautiful day time tunes. All these moments capture a raw and honest sense of musical expression between that group of people at that very time, as it is unforced and completely our choice to play or not, so in its essence the very best music that you want to play with others comes out at these times. There’s a certain energy in some tunes that make you stay up late at night and keep going, something that digs deep. It’s very different from the rehearsal room as there’s no agenda and no timeline, just pure fun and chaos.
You’re about to take this music on an extensive Canadian tour. What have Canadian audiences shown you about their relationship with traditional Irish music that keeps drawing TULUA back here?
We absolutely love coming back to Canada, there’s something really special in the air here. The people, the places, the venues all contribute to this. We are especially fond of people’s appreciation to Celtic tradition and the Irish tradition, there’s a community in Canada that just gets it, they just understand the Irish sound. And that’s why we play and share traditional Irish music and songs, as they tell their own stories when you just understand them. We feel that people in Canada want to know more about the tunes and songs and make connections throughout he repertoire, and that means so much to us as it is just one big community.
TULUA has now toured across seven countries and three continents. Have you noticed that audiences without a deep background in Irish traditional music respond differently to these reels than audiences who already know the tradition—and does either reaction change how you perform?
I wouldn’t say that you have to have an understanding about the Irish tradition in order to respond or connect with it. It definitely enhances the music as it allows you to deliver into that ancient world. But at it’s core, it’s a music of the people, and the one thing we try to do is deliver the music in a way that is immediately received by anyone over the world, that means we’re doing the music and songs justice. Different countries to tend to differ slightly, but we have definitely noticed that it is perhaps a universal feeling to be drawn to Irish music and songs, maybe only if you let them draw you in.
Upcoming Shows:
October 17, 2026, Reiger Theatre, Courtenay, BC
October 18, 2026, venue TBC, Duncan, BC
October 19, 2026, Gleneden Hall, Salmon Arm, BC
October 22, 2026, The Bassment, Saskatoon, SK
October 24, 2026, Irish Cultural Society, Calgary, AB
October 25, 2026, Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts, Leduc, AB
October 27, 2026, artsPlace, Canmore, AB
October 28, 2026, Old Church Theatre, Okotoks, AB
October 30, 2026, Creekside Theatre, Lake Country, BC
October 31, 2026, Rogue Folk Club, Vancouver, BC
November 1, 2026, ArtSpring, Salt Spring, BC
November 4, 2026, Stonecroft Folk Club, Ingersoll, ON
November 5, 2026, German Canadian Club, London, ON
November 6, 2026, Aurora Cultural Centre, Aurora, ON
November 7, 2026, Little Red Wagon Winery, Clarendon, QC
November 8, 2026, MERA Schoolhouse, McDonalds Corners, ON
November 8, 2026, Motel Chelsea, Chelsea, QC
November 9, 2026, Marigold Centre, Truro, NS
November 10, 2026, Osprey Arts Centre, Shelburne, NS
November 11, 2026, Acadia Performing Arts Centre, Wolfville, NS
November 13, 2026, Scott MacAuley Performing Arts Centre, Summerside, PE
November 14, 2026, L’Association le Moulin de la Baie Sainte-Marie, Church Point, NS
November 15, 2026, Astor Theatre, Liverpool, NS
November 17, 2026, The Carleton, Halifax, NS