Peggy Seeger’s First Farewell tour coming to the Source Arts Centre, Thurles

Peggy Seeger, the undisputed queen of folk and political song, will bring her First Farewell tour to the Source Arts Centre, Thurles, on June 18.  

Peggy Seeger will be performing with her son Calum MacColl, a gifted professional musician and songwriter in his own right and producer of many of her albums, including her most recent album, First Farewell.

This is an unmissable evening of warmth, humour and exceptional musicianship, mixing traditional and original songs from across Peggy’s remarkable career with anecdotes and plenty of family chat. 

The tour takes its name from Peggy’s recent album First Farewell which was Mojo Magazine’s #1 Folk Album of the Year and was shortlisted for Songlines Magazine Album of the Year.

Christened by The Guardian as Folk’s First Lady and by the Sunday Times as Folk’s Matriarch, Peggy Seeger has 26 solo albums (and over 100 collaborative albums) under her belt.

Few artists can claim such an impressive catalogue of work.

Modesty would prevent her from calling herself a national treasure, but she embodies the term in cultural significance not only for her song-writing and musicianship but also in her refusal to compromise standards or beliefs. 

Peggy is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Women in Music ‘Most Inspirational Artist’, Folk Alliance International’s Lifetime Achievement and BBC Radio 2’s Folk Awards ‘Song of the Year.  

Her life has been full of amazing moments –  she is the ‘face’ of ‘First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, the song that Ewan MacColl wrote for her, made famous by Roberta Flack and covered by hundreds of other artists including Elvis and Johnny Cash.

Peggy made her first record at the age of 18, continuing to release records in every decade since the 1950s.