Peter Sheridan returns to play Cavan.

A trip down the Brou-levard again

After close to a decade living away, Belturbet multi-instrumentalist Peter Sheridan is set to return to the local stage next month, and he’s bringing a few new friends with him.

Along with rewinding the clocks by bringing back the sorely missed sounds of Sheridan and Daragh Slacke inspired Brouhaha, Peter is touring Ireland his own ensemble all the way from his adopted home of Denver, Colorado, a rhythm n’ blues, funk-inspired piano trio titled ‘Sheridan Boulevard’.

With influences ranging from New Orleans funk to modern-day jazz, the full line-up of dates are: Belturbet Railway Station, Saturday, May 7 at 8pm; The Dunes, Strandhill, Sligo, Sunday, May 8, 9pm; Town Hall Theatre, Cavan Town, Thursday, May 12, 8pm; Friday, May 13, Clancy’s, Cork City, 10pm; Saturday, May 14, O’Dwyer’s, Cork City, 6pm; and rounding off the whirlwind visit with Ryan’s Kilkenny, at 8pm on Sunday, May 15.

‘Sheridan Boulevard’ to be joined by ‘Señor Slacke’ on each of the six gig dates announced.

“It’s felt like five years for the longest amount of time, and now after the pandemic, boom! We’re up at 10 years now this summer. Its mad,” Peter says of the length of time he’s been away, during which time he has toured the US and the world at large with the likes of Celtic Thunder, Byrne & Kelly, Keith Harkin and Brendan Perry of ‘Dead Can Dance’ fame.

Sheridan Boulevard formed mid-pandemic 2020, and consists of Alex Goldberg on bass, Ryan Elwood on drums, and Peter himself on keys. Their live shows can range anywhere from Dr. John and Professor Longhair to The Beatles and Martin Hayes.

Peter admits he did think about the possible onset of jet-lag arriving on a transatlantic flight and straight into a show the following day, but in true pro form brushes the thought aside.

“We’ll walk it off,” he laughs.

He’s understandably excited about the upcoming shows.

Peter and Slacke have crossed musical swords on a number of band iterations over the years, not just Brouhaha but also as Ian I Brow, and Whiskey You’re The Divil.

Peter also worked on the music for shows such as the stage adaptation of Padraic McIntyre’s The Night Joe Dolan’s Car Brokedown, with Ballyconnell’s John O’Grady.

Of the Cavan Townhall Theatre date (€18 plus booking fee), the show is being curated by Darragh Slacke, with input from other local musical friends, including rootsy blues singer Clara Rose Monahan, Celtus guitarist/ violinist virtuoso Pat McManus, and folk artist Kevin Logue.

“We’ll be playing maybe three or four songs as part of that. We’ll be playing with him and Clara and Pat. I really wanted to play a show at home as well and that’s where the Belturbet Railway show comes in. I haven’t really done anything at home in a long time so I’m really looking forward to it. What’s funny is for years I’ve been playing Irish music to the Americans and coming home now to play American influenced music to the Irish.”