Following on from Upstate's success with Songtrail and The Immortals, the company wishes to explore integrating aspects from both in 2019 under the working title, Sceal Droichead Atha. This project would see Upstate work in association with Cathal Thornton, Independent Artist, and a number of traditional musicians to explore the stories of Drogheda’s songs and their associated histories in a series of workshops and discussions. This will include inviting local community performers to participate in this research phase.The proposal seeks to develop the research, knowledge and findings based on the material uncovered as part of the earlier musical discoveries during Songtrail (presented at Drogheda Arts Festival & Fleadh Cheoil 2018) In this phase, Cathal will interview the singer-songwriters of Drogheda, and bring the stories and songs they offer to the project in a workshop context with community actors Upstate has worked with over the last number of years. The workshops will focus on participatory process to devise material in response to songs. Working with local historian Brendan Matthews, Cathal will investigate the cultural and historical context of these songs, and share them with the groups from the community for exploration. The research will seek to craft a timeline of Drogheda’s history told through song and music. The workshop series will seek to illustrate the feasibility of integrating the live music, and traditional songs with dramatic performance.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.