Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

In the depths of Covid, a restricted bubble of friends discovered that they shared similar tastes in music, and that one of them had kept hidden a compelling voice.  “I heard her sing House of the Rising Sun,” recalls guitarist and backing vocalist Ben McGowan. “There were a few of us there and we were completely dumbfounded. I didn’t even know she could sing.”

That was Ophelia Mortimer, frontwoman of Galway-based sextet Siúcra. A versatile group, six can sometimes become seven, or occasionally fewer. There is a community feel to what the band conjures, bringing to mind those Covid nights of a guitar being passed around a living room.

It is evidenced on the line-up for the launch of Siúcra’s sophomore EP, Thirst, this Friday in the Róisín Dubh.

Packing out the bill are indie outfit Sulk Hogan, harmony-laden five-piece the Kates, trad rock Dublin band Sabbages, and Ursidae – the indie-folk brainchild of Cork-born, Galway-based Dónal Tuipéar.

“We’re very excited,” McGowan says. “The last gig we played together was in August of this year in Sally Long’s. We had a lot of our friends, the Bechamel Boys and Sabbages, playing and it was one of the best nights we’ve ever played.

“What I wanted to do was take that bill and bring it to the Róisín. I had a bit of room to play around with, so I reached out to a few friends and a few bands that we admire as well. The Kates – I’ve been a big fan of them for a long time. My friend Dónal (of Ursidae) is good friends with them too.

“I’m a big fan of anything to do with harmonies. The Beatles, Alice in Chains, even Eagles – stuff like that. I saw [the Kates] play a couple of years ago and I was just taken away with them.”

McGowan estimates that Siúcra have played 200 to 250 times as a band, cutting their teeth all around the country and featuring at the likes of the Rory Gallagher Festival and Sound House Rising. It might be difficult to manage a group of their size if they weren’t all so close away from music.

Pictured: Siúcra…EP release and big gig at the Róisín Dubh.