Ríoghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet [soul/folk/groove]

About this event

“Brilliant Band” – Craig Charles

“I’m in love with Honeyfeet” – Benjamin Zephaniah

Ríoghnach Connolly and Honeyfeet return in 2025 with Honeyfeet Presents: The Heads, Hearts and Hooves Tour, a bold and celebratory chapter in the journey of one of the most electrifying and genre-defying live acts performing today. Following a string of unforgettable performances, growing international recognition and a new body of work, the band sets out across Europe and North America, carrying their signature blend of protest soul, twisted folk, deep groove and joyful abandon.

At the heart of Honeyfeet is the indomitable Ríoghnach Connolly, winner of the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award for Best Folk Singer and BBC Radio 2’s Folk Singer of the Year. Her voice, equal parts fierce, tender and fearless, connects ancestral song traditions with contemporary storytelling. In early 2025, she joined Annie Lennox on stage at the Royal Albert Hall for “Sisters: Annie Lennox and Friends,” a landmark concert that raised funds for The Circle, Lennox’s global feminist organisation. Sharing the bill with artists including Celeste and Nadine Shah, Connolly brought her singular presence to a night that celebrated the transformative power of music and collective voice.

The past eighteen months have seen Honeyfeet on a steady rise. Their “They Want What You’ve Got” tour featured a string of acclaimed performances, including shows at The Glasshouse in Gateshead and a headline slot at the Albert Hall in Manchester as part of WOMEX 24. Another unforgettable moment came with their performance at the cliffside Minack Theatre in Cornwall, where the band held the audience in thrall beneath the open sky as the sun dropped into the sea.

Now, with The Heads, Hearts and Hooves Tour, Honeyfeet widen their reach again. Their summer travels include appearances at Gobefest in Manchester and Plein Publique Festival in Belgium, before they journey to Canada for performances at Hillside Festival in Ontario, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Calgary Folk Music Festival. They continue through autumn with appearances at Wilderness, Green Man and Found Festival, concluding the year with a headline show at Manchester Academy Three.

Honeyfeet’s lineup: Lorien Garth Edwards on bass, Ellis Davies on guitar, John Ellis on keyboards, Biff Roxby on brass, and Phill Howley on drums form a fluid and fearless musical unit. Their live sets move seamlessly between swampy jazz, raucous brass, fractured funk, blues balladry, and folkloric textures, held together by a groove and a commitment to musical freedom. Connolly’s vocals lead the charge, blending mischief, protest and vulnerability into something fiercely human and utterly live.

“A righteous blast of working-class energy” – Clash Music