Songbird - The Songs of Eva Cassidy

Eva Cassidy never released an album during her lifetime, yet her voice became one of the most beloved in the world after her death in 1996. Irish singer Niamh Strong has spent years honouring that legacy, and her show “Songbird - The Songs of Eva Cassidy” brings it to the intimate stage of St. John’s Theatre in Listowel this September. If you know Cassidy’s recordings - Fields of Gold, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Autumn Leaves - you’ll know how demanding the material is. Strong carries it with a voice that moves easily across blues, soul and jazz, and the show has toured widely across Ireland. An evening like this suits anyone who loves carefully crafted vocal music, whether they came to Eva Cassidy through the radio, a film, or decades of listening.

What to expect

Niamh Strong performs the full span of Eva Cassidy’s catalogue - folk, blues, jazz standards and pop - backed by a small live band. Previous performances of Songbird have featured guitar, double bass and drums, keeping the sound close to the intimate, studio-quality feel that made Cassidy’s recordings so affecting. Strong released a dedicated tribute album in 2018 and has continued touring the show since, refining it into something that stands in its own right rather than simply mimicking the originals. The setting helps: St. John’s Theatre holds around 150 people, housed in a converted 19th-century Gothic church on Listowel’s Georgian Square. The stone architecture and compact auditorium give the room a natural warmth that suits this kind of performance well.

Getting there

Listowel sits in North Kerry, roughly 27km north of Tralee and 50km from Killarney. By road, take the N69 from Tralee or come via the N21 from Limerick - the journey from Limerick city is around an hour. Bus Eireann connects Tralee and Listowel on route 14; check their timetable for evening return options. The theatre is on The Square in the town centre, so parking is a short walk from most of the town’s car parks - there is a public car park off Church Street and further street parking around the Square itself.

While you’re in Listowel

Listowel is one of Ireland’s most genuinely literary towns - home to Writers’ Week, Ireland’s oldest literary festival, and the birthplace of John B. Keane and Bryan MacMahon. The town is well set up for a pre-show meal, with a good choice of restaurants and pubs around the Square. There is more to see in Listowel and across Co. Kerry.

Good to know

• Date: Friday 12 September 2026, 8:00pm
• Venue: St. John’s Theatre & Arts Centre, The Square, Listowel, Co. Kerry
• Tickets: €20
• Book at: stjohnstheatre.ticketsolve.com or call the box office on 068 22566
• The venue website is stjohnstheatre.ie