Declan O’Donovan
Songs for a rainy night in Naeba
Declan O’Donovan is a troubadour in the best sense of the word, wearing his heart on his sleeve and singing with pure emotion. His dedication to his craft was inspiring as a hard rain was coming down all around him. Despite the adverse conditions, a sizable crowd was standing pretty much all the way up the hill from the Gypsy Avalon stage.
O’Dovovan ably switched from guitar to piano without incident as his small band kept to their cues despite the dim lighting of the stage. There was a lot of foot traffic passing by due to the Elvin Bishop show at the Field of Heaven, but for those who stopped and listened, they were handsomely repaid with tight soundcraft.
Midway through the set, O’Donovan dedicated the song “Hank” to Hiroshishen and played it with great emotion. Another favorite was “Cheap Souvenir” and he surprised the crowd by performing a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows.”
I’ll leave you with a few of these lyrics to show the great difficulty performing on a cold, rainy night, in a far away stage at the edge of the festival.
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows…
O’Donovan made a good go of it, and many appreciated his effort and sincerity
