Athlone's Liadh debuts song at hometown festival
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Athlone native singer-songwriter Leah Moloney, performing under the pseudonym Liadh, debuted her latest song 'Control' at the town's first ever Croílár Festival.
The local artist performed her set in The Venue on Saturday (April 5), where she surprised the audience with an exclusive performance of the unreleased track.
"It was just surreal, it felt like a dream," Liadh told the Westmeath Independent. "I never thought I'd be performing at a festival in my home town.
"To get to perform for my own community - it's just so special, and it makes a huge difference for new artists to feel that support from their local community. It made me feel really hopeful for the future."
Her latest song 'Control' will be featured as part of her upcoming EP, titled 'Illusions', which she hopes to release in Autumn of this year.
To date, she has released two singles from the EP, including title track 'Illusions' and 'Can't Face The Day'.
"I actually wrote 'Control' about seven years ago as a poem, and I turned it into a song with my producer Lisa Murray," she said.
"We've been working together for two years now. It was a really cool process, because the poem didn't fit into the parameters of a song, so we did change some of the stanzas to fit the structure of a song."
The theme of Liadh's upcoming EP focuses on the ways that people experience illusions in their own lives, and acts as a metaphor for anxiety and depression.
'Control', in particular, deals with the idea of leaning on unhealthy habits to deal with your struggles.
"For me, it was about alcohol. I haven't drank now in a few years, but at the time it was about leaning on alcohol to shut off your mind, and in turn losing control. The bridge is about that moment in the club bathroom where you're looking in the mirror thinking 'what am I doing?' but you just go dancing again to ignore it.
"The song is about not really being ready yet to give up those unhealthy habits that you're leaning into."
The Athlone native has expressed her thanks to the Croílár Festival, and to Westmeath County Council for enabling artists to continue pursuing a career in the arts.
"I was very lucky to receive funding from the Westmeath Creative Ireland Programme, which 'Control' wouldn't exist without. It allowed me to pay for the studio, and the producers, and all of those people who make it possible for me to make music. The funding will also cover the cost of another track on the EP," Liadh said.
"I'm so grateful, too, for the Croílár Festival - thanks to all of the organisers, volunteers, and businesses who hosted the festival and made it such a success! As an artist from Athlone, it gives you that feeling of hope and support, and it showed me that people from Athlone and the wider Midlands area love art and music, and want to support it."
She added: "It can be very challenging to be an artist. Without local support, a lot of young Irish creatives are leaving for London. I love Athlone and I'm proud to be from here, so every bit of support from local papers, businesses, and local people all makes a difference, and it keeps me here in the town that I love!"
You can see Liadh performing at Athlone Book Shop on May 1, at 5.30pm as part of the May Day poetry event.
To follow her journey, search 'Liadh Music' on Instagram.