In June 1989, Sharon Shannon was rehearsing and demoing tracks for her first album, when she was whisked away to Glastonbury festival with The Waterboys.

In the 30 years since then, Sharon has recorded 10 studio albums; five live albums, four best-of compilations and three live concert DVDs, collaborating with everybody from Willie Nelson to Nigel Kennedy and receiving numerous awards - including being the youngest ever recipient of the Meteor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

Sharon Shannon will play on April 27th at Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire as part of an Irish tour celebrating the release of her latest album, Now, on April 26th.

We asked Sharon for her choice cultural picks...

MUSIC

I've been listening to Irish singer-songwriters Noel McCabe from Clare Island, Sean Lyons from Clare, and Steve Gormley from Sligo (who plays in a band called Moon Looks On. I also love newcomer Muireann Bradley from Donegal. In the more traditional and folky style, I love an album by Monica Brennan called Timeless.

We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

I absolutely love traditional singers Séamus Begley and Muireann Nic Amhlaibh from Dingle. If you like traditional music, I highly recommend all the old reliables. My favorite instrumental album of all time is one called The Mighty Session by Tommy Peoples and Matt Molloy. I love all albums by Tommy or Matt. Another great old album that I still listen to is one by Noel Hill and Tony Linnane. Then there are all the early albums by Dé Dannan and Stockton's Wing, Dolores Keane and John Faulkner, and of course, The Bothy Band. I recently discovered a fantastic American roots rock band called Larkin Poe, led by sisters Rebecca and Meghan Lovell. They won a Grammy this year. They are incredible singers and multi-instrumentalists. I love watching them play electric guitar and steel guitar. Their voices are savage, and their harmonies are amazing. You can follow them on Instagram and watch acoustic and a cappella versions of their songs. I would highly recommend having a listen.I'm also a huge Paolo Nutini fan and all things Mark Knopfler.

ART

I love the paintings of a dear friend called Jim McKee. He's also a great singer and songwriter. He uses thick, clunky paint and a knife. His paintings stand out from the page or canvas almost like 3D images. He has a whole series of paintings of cherry blossom trees which are absolutely gorgeous.

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Another artist that I love is called Phillip Morrison. Lots of his paintings are panoramic. He has an art gallery in Lahinch, County Clare. His paintings are very colorful and playful, almost cartoon-like. He does amazing paintings of places that are very close to my heart, such as Doolin, Fanore, Liscannor, Spanish Point, Ennistymon, Miltown Malbay, the diving boards in Galway, and the Long Walk in Galway.

FILM

I would highly recommend a movie that I watched on the plane on the way home from Australia recently about the life of Charlie Chaplin. He was a fascinating character and an absolute genius. His movies were nearly all silent. His first sound film was The Great Dictator, which satirised Hitler. After watching the brilliant documentary on Chaplin's life, I really want to watch The Great Dictator also. I have already seen the final scene of the movie a few times over the years where Chaplin looks directly into the camera and recites an absolutely amazing and powerful speech pleading against war and fascism. The first time I ever heard this speech was from Paolo Nutini's song Iron Sky a few years ago, and I was blown away by it.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

TECH

I'm a dinosaur when it comes to technology and computers. But I've shared some serious belly laughs and tears of laughter with friends with the comedy filters on Snapchat. I don't use the app for any other reason.

THEATRE

I don't go to plays, but I will definitely go to see Peter Sheridan's The Mother of all Behans with Imelda May ASAP. It's a one-woman show of songs and stories celebrating the life of Brendan Behan's mother Kathleen. I love Imelda, and I love the various snippets of the play that I saw on her social media pages. The play will be back in the Olympia Theatre for a limited run only from Tuesday 13th to Sunday 18th August 2024.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

TV

I never watch TV. I made a decision to get rid of all my TV channels, but when I used to watch it, I liked the music programs on TG4. They regularly show great music documentaries made by independent companies. I also like hidden camera comedy programs, animal rescue programs, and real-life documentaries about people. I love Graham Norton. I love watching re-runs of Father Ted and Fawlty Towers. I also love cartoons like Family Guy and American Dad.

GIG

I'm fierce excited about The Bothy Band reforming. I didn't manage to see one of the gigs yet, but I really hope to get to one of them ASAP. They are going to be playing at the Galway Folk Festival this summer. There was a documentary on TV the other night about them, and of course, I didn't see it, but I'm hoping to try to catch it at some stage on my laptop. Every single one of the Bothy Band are absolute Legends. They were destined to play together. I hear that the documentary is very emotional. I can't wait to see it.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

PODCAST

I listen to or watch a podcast by an amazing person called Steven Bartlett called The Diary of a CEO. According to Spotify Wrapped, it was ranked in the top 10 most popular podcasts globally. He interviews hugely interesting and fascinating people. I have discovered lots of amazing people through this podcast. Highly recommended.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

THE NEXT BIG THING...

I know the Mary Wallopers are already hugely popular, but I still want to talk about them here. It's like a punk rock diddley-aye fusion with very high energy and humor. It is really amazing to watch them revive all the old songs that our parents and grandparents used to sing. I was at a live gig recently, and the crowd was going bananas. It was an amazing night. It's brilliant to watch these mad old songs being performed to a huge crowd of young people who already know the words and are singing all these songs back to the band. The Mary Wallopers are very passionate about keeping these old songs alive, and they are very successful at making all these old funny and serious songs cool again. I'm just loving watching them become more and more successful. They are playing a huge part in inspiring the younger generation to be proud to be Irish and to love these old songs... and that us culchies are cool!

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Now is released on April 26th, with the new single Seamus currently streaming. Sharon Shannon tours Ireland this April - find out more here.