An Irish folk singer drawing on the Neil Young songwriting tradition. Declan is a product of the folk-rock busking tradition which produced Damien Dempsey, Mundy, and Paddy Casey, under whom O'Rourke served his musical apprenticeship, his audience-friendly brand of acoustic pop has brought him multi-platinum success in Ireland.
His rough vocal style contrasts neatly with his intelligent string- and piano-laden arrangements, at once differentiating him from his contemporaries and highlighting the debt he owes to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Brady, and Burt Bacharach.
Since Declan’s near sell-out show at StageOne back in February, he’s been busy writing and performing - most recently with Bono, Damien Rice, Bob Geldolf and others at the Electric Burma concert honoring Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyin in Dublin. Declan recorded a duet with Kate Rusby, England’s top contemporary folk singer. ‘Bring me a boat’ will appear on her upcoming album in October. They’ll also be performing together at London’s Royal Festival Hall in London.
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Paul Weller of the Jam said this about Delcan’ in April’s Mojo: “He writes the sort of classic songs that people don’t write anymore, songs that sound like they’ve been around forever . . . Listen to Galileo, which is possibly the greatest song written in the last thirty years.”