Wayne Brereton, Irish folk/ballad singer-songwriter, announces November 3 release of debut solo album, 'The Robin's Call.'
Wayne Brereton is a folk/ballad singer-songwriter from Co. Offaly in Ireland. He has been playing guitar in gigging bands since the age of fourteen and first fell in love with ballad / folk & traditional music when he was a central member of his father’s band Turas. He also features as bass player and additional vocals for Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones as well as fronting his own increasingly popular band, The Cardinal Sins.
Wayne cites Luke Kelly, Shane McGowan and Christy Moore and of course his multi-talented father as his biggest influences for the crafting of his own style. Wayne is a Gaelic speaker and has also worked as a tour guide in Kilmainham Gaol, which puts him very much in tune with the love and culture of Irish songs and ballads.
Wayne Brereton "The Robin's Call", Own label, 2023Wayne’s grandmother Minnie was born in Scotland and raised by Irish parents before returning to Ireland at the age of 16 in 1932, instilling his strong connection with Scottish ballads, folk music, and Australian folk music, a place some of his relatives emigrated in the early 1900’s.
Wayne has been on a journey with this collection of songs, gathered over a number of years, travelling far and wide. Gaining inspiration from his influences and his love for the Irish language as well as overcoming health issues, as the project began in 2019, Wayne suffered a setback due to a congenital heart condition. A valve he’d received in 1995 suddenly stopped working and halted his active life. The subsequent pandemic restrictions resulted in Wayne being confined to hospital for six weeks without visitors, which at times was stressful and upsetting, before February 2021 saw Wayne released and back on his feet, triumphantly returning to the studio to complete his debut release, The Robin’s Call.
The album’s title was inspired by both of Wayne’s grandmothers who often spoke of the robin as a strong resilient bird that protects itself and will always return to where it should be, and in local folklore, the belief that a robin arriving at your back door or garden meant someone had passed on and they were coming back to say hello to see if you were alright.
Wayne says, “It was a victory for me to finish this record, with so many trials and obstacles in the way. It is my hope that you enjoy the songs and feel a connection with them the same way I have”.
Photo Credits:
(1)-(2) Wayne Brereton
(unknown/website).
