Nightvisiting | Lisa Lambe

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Songs & Stories from the Hearth. 

Based on her work with the National Folklore Collection and her recent M.A. in Irish Folklore, internationally acclaimed Irish folk singer Lisa Lambe brings us her new project, ‘Nightvisiting’, first commissioned by The National Famine Museum in Strokestown, County Roscommon. Since 2023, Lisa has been Nightvisiting all across Ireland, America, and the UK in concert halls, churches, old schoolhouses, village halls, and theatres. Lisa collaborates with renowned traditional musicians to create a unique performance bespoke to each venue she visits.

‘Nightvisiting’ reconnects us to the social role that nighttime social house visits once played in our oral traditions and folklore, and in the preservation of our songs and stories, from tender love songs to songs of loss and longing. In the West, Nightvisiting is known as ‘Bothántaíocht’ or ‘Cuairtaíocht’; in West Cork and Kerry, it is known as going ‘Scoraíochting’. In other counties, it is referred to as a visit to the Rambling House.

‘Nightvisiting’ will bring those who gather to the hearth of the rural house to sing the old songs and tell the local stories, many now lost or forgotten. Nightvisiting was an important part of our social society and culture, which began to fade with the electrification of Ireland in the late 1940s when the hearth slowly gave way to the ballroom, the public house, and the dance hall. ‘Nightvisiting’ is a celebration and a reimagining of those nights of sharing the old songs and stories, joined by Claire Sherry, Tim Doyle, and Mike Brookfield. Join us for a very special night.