The Mariannes are an urban folk band with strong Irish folk, blues and alt country roots. Their songs are known for their troubling lyrics, beautiful melodies and strong instrumentation.
'The Mariannes offer fresh, beautifully crafted and delivered material with a broad appeal, and this EP displays a band that could very well become a household name'
– TradConnect
'too good to remain a secret for much longer'
- state.ie
'talented, sophisticated, group of musicians'
- golden plec
'they say the best things come to those who wait'
- Unsigned&Independent
'one of the most interesting acts on the alt-folk scene' 'Haunting lyrics, breath-taking melodies and stunning vocal harmonies'
- Ceol Collective
The Mariannes achieved notoriety when the title track from their EP, 'Lost with All Hands', was selected by a panel of judges including Niall Toner (RTE Radio/Musician) and Finbarr Clancy (The High Kings) as the winning song at the inaugural songwriting competition of the Clancy Brothers Festival in 2014. With their winnings (and a little help from :fund:it), the band recorded their début EP at Cauldron Studios.
The Mariannes released the Lost with All Hands EP, and launched to a packed Whelan’s main venue with special guests The Rattling Kind on 9 April 2015.
'If this release, and this gig, is anything to go by, The Mariannes deserve to be household names'
- Ceol Collective [live review]
In 2015, The Mariannes appeared at a number of Irish festivals including The Ballyshannon Folk Festival and Spirit of Folk Festival in Dunderry. They also played on some of the most well known stages around the country including, Monroes in Galway and McCarthy's Bar, Dingle.
The band are set to follow up on their success in 2015 with the release of their single, The Black Diary Waltz, in March 2016.