Entertainment

Meath singer Niamh's little steps to greatness

Co Meath singer-songwriter Niamh Crowther has supported Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora and she’s a fan of the Foo Fighters, but the teenager’s new single sounds more like Jeff Buckley. Ahead of her Dublin gig, she talks to Brian Campbell

Niamh Crowther plays Whelan's in Dublin on June 29
Niamh Crowther plays Whelan's in Dublin on June 29 Niamh Crowther plays Whelan's in Dublin on June 29

NIAMH Crowther is happy to admit that she has a broad taste in music. The 18-year-old Co Meath singer-songwriter might have loved seeing the Foo Fighters at Slane last month and she got to support Richie Sambora (of Bon Jovi) at the Olympia in Dublin, but she’s not all about rock music.

“I love Jay Z, Hozier, Mozart, jazz and a bit of everything. I like the Beatles, ELO, Jeff Lynne, U2 and Crosby, Stills and Nash too. But the Foos are definitely up there.”

Today Crowther releases her new single Little By Little and it’s a great tune. In terms of influence there’s definitely a hint of both Jeff Buckley and Dolores O’Riordan.

“I’m definitely a Jeff Buckley fan, but I don’t know if I’d be brave enough at the moment to try to cover one of his songs live,” she says. Crowther plays the upstairs room in Whelan’s in Dublin on Monday and says she will supplement her own material with covers, possibly including her take on the Rihanna song Stay.

“I love Joni Mitchell, so I’m planning to do one of her songs. I also love Fleetwood Mac, so I should be doing Landslide by them. I’ve played Whelan’s twice before. I played the main venue for the `Tunes for the Typhoon' charity gig for Concern [in 2013] and then I did my first ever headline show upstairs in March. I can’t wait for this one now. It should be good craic.”

The single was recorded in the Windmill Lane studio in Dublin with Colm Finnegan and mixed by Tim Martin (The Corrs, Declan O’Rourke). The song has been getting a healthy amount of airplay on Irish radio stations and on Spotify.

“I didn’t expect the response at all. I’d say a huge thank you to anyone who’s downloaded it or shared it. It’s been great. I’ve been gobsmacked, so to say I’m happy would be a pretty big understatement. “

Crowther is planning to write more songs over the summer. “I’ve plenty of new songs and I want to get into the studio and get them down. We have the bones of an EP, so it’s just a matter of getting it together and releasing it.”

Based in Ashbourne in Meath, Crowther has been writing songs for about four years now.

“I love English and poetry. At primary school I loved poems and I did piano lessons since I was eight, but I never put the two together. Then one day when I was about 13 or 14 I was just messing around and I realised I could put them together and it just went from there. Now I play keys and a bit of guitar.”

While she would appear to have a great chance of making a career for herself in music, she is still working away at college in Dublin.

“I’m studying primary school teaching and I’m just finishing my first placement. So I’m Miss Crowther by day and an aspiring musician by night,” she laughs.

As for seeing the Foo Fighters at Slane, she says it was “the best gig of my life”.

“I just can’t shut up about it. I was 40 feet away from Dave Grohl in the flesh. It was unreal; just even to see his musicianship. And then it was great to see The Strypes, the Kaiser Chiefs and the main man himself, Hozier. It was unreal. I did get soaked, though; absolutely saturated.”

She is a huge fan of Hozier and thinks the Take Me To Church singer is “a musical genius”.

Getting to support the Bray man at some point is something Crowther certainly wouldn’t say no to. “Here’s hoping. I can dream,” she laughs.

:: Niamh Crowther’s new single Little By Little is out now (NiamhCrowther.com). She plays Whelan’s in Dublin on Monday at 8pm (tickets €10).