Kildare musician Gemma Cox to join Gavin James on European tour

Kildare musician Gemma Cox is to join Gavin James on his European tour this month.

Gemma and Rachel Grace from Wexford will join the highly respected singer/songwriter in Amsterdam on February 8 and 9.

 Three have announced that they are taking their City Stages initiative beyond Ireland and into mainland Europe through a partnership with one of Ireland’s biggest music stars, Gavin James.

Up to four artists will have the opportunity to join him on his current European tour which includes shows in Amsterdam and Paris. The first two artists announced to join Gavin James are Gemma and Rachel. They will now join Gavin James to open for him at the beautiful Vondel Church in Amsterdam.

Three’s City Stages provided up and coming artists across Ireland with the opportunity to perform on some of the country’s biggest stages. Last February, Kildare musician Tia Burke was chosen to open for Mercury Music Prize nominated, Self Esteem at her sold out 3Olympia Theatre show.

In September, eight more City Stages performers were given an incredible opportunity to come together for a special collaborative performance at Electric Picnic, playing to a capacity crowd on the Three Music stage. The collective consisted of Arthur Valentine, Kestine, Korey Power, Leah Moran, 2 Time Charlie, Salamay, Liliana and Bukky, who reimagined hits by their favourite artists from Miley Cyrus and 50 Cent to Eminem and Whitney Houston before being joined by a very special guest in main stage singer Cian Ducrot for a group rendition of his #1 hit record “I’ll Be Waiting”.

Speaking on the announcement, Gavin James commented: “I’ve been following Three’s City Stages last year and have loved seeing the great new musical talent Ireland has and I wanted to play my part in helping them with Three’s City Stages initiative by bringing them on tour with me and hopefully opening a few doors both at home and abroad.”

Aislinn O’Connor, Marketing Director, Three added: “City Stages was a runaway success last year and provided some incredible opportunities to some of the best up and coming musical talent across the country, taking them from busking on the streets of Ireland to the big stages at 3Olympia and Electric Picnic. We have been so enthused by the response and partnering with Gavin James brings City Stages to life in a new way and we hope to not only see these City Stages acts perform on Ireland’s biggest stages in the coming years but on the European stage too”.

To date, over 500 musicians have applied to play and perform on a Three City Stage around the country. The initiative offers a new generation of musicians, currently learning their trade by busking on Ireland’s city streets, an opportunity to progress their careers by offering them the opportunity to perform on the biggest stages in the country.