“These musicians, like Blind Blake, are so amazing – we should keep their memory alive”: Meet Muireann Bradley, the 17-year-old fingerpicker on a quest to bring turn-of-the-century folk-blues to Gen Z
This teenage folk and blues singer-songwriter is wise beyond her years – and nailed every song on her debut album in one take
(Image credit: John Bradley)
At just 17 years old, Muireann Bradley from County Donegal, Ireland, has hit the ground running with her debut album, I Kept These Old Blues, receiving rave reviews across the board and her tour dates selling out fast.
Muireann’s gently sung versions of traditional folk and blues songs from some of the American greats of the 20th century are deftly delivered, and her picking technique is clean and precise.
“I grew up listening to my dad playing music all of the time,” she begins. “I just loved [folk and blues] as soon as I heard it, although I don’t remember the first time I heard it because I’ve been listening to it since I was a baby.”
The First Guitar
“I was about nine when I got my first guitar,” Muireann tells us, and this early start is somewhat unsurprising considering the importance of music in the family’s life.
Her father and manager, John, picks up the story: “I got her a little travel guitar with extra light strings on it. We capo’d it up to the 3rd fret because her hands were so tiny, even for her age. I taught her how to thumb-pick straight away, with alternating bass, and she was so keen to learn and even keen to do the drills. It was crazy to see how quickly she was learning.”
“I was just doing two strings for the first week or so,” Muireann recalls. “Then we started on some treble strings and I was playing things like John Henry within five weeks of picking up the guitar.”
Keeping Tradition Alive
Inspired and surrounded by the music her father played her growing up, I Kept These Old Blues references the blues and ragtime greats from the turn of the 20th century, as well as the folk and blues revivalists of the 1960s.
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“It’s so important to keep the songs going,” she says. “These musicians, like Blind Blake and all, are so amazing and we should keep their memory alive. The first time I played these songs in front of my friends was during a practical thing in music class and they really enjoyed it, which was surprising.”
“The thing is that it really rocks,” John adds, with Muireann nodding in agreement: “Most of my listeners are older, so I’m really keen on younger people becoming interested [in the origins of the music], too.”
(Image credit: John Bradley)
Stepping Out
The attention that Muireann received when she made her music public took her – and her family – by surprise. “I really didn’t think this would happen, we were so surprised,” she admits with a little laugh. “My first YouTube video got so many views and likes, it was mad.”
“There was nowhere to go to gigs [during Covid] so I encouraged her to put up videos,” John explains. “I wanted her to understand how crazy it was that she was playing this music and I wanted her to see some reaction. But we didn’t think it would be that big…”
The Next Step
Muireann Bradley - When The Levee Breaks (Green Man Festival | Sessions) - YouTube
Once Muireann had been snapped up by independent San Franciscan label Tompkins Square Records, her debut album began to take shape as a beautifully simple solo recording through one mic, with no overdubs. “Josh [Rosenthal, Tompkins Square founder] just said, ‘Do whatever you want’,” Muireann says.
“We went to a few professional studios, but Muireann wasn’t very comfortable there,” John tell us. “We ended up in Valley Music Studio [in the family’s hometown of Ballybofey, County Donegal] with Terry McGinty and he was really good at putting Muireann at ease; she wasn’t nervous at all and we ended up doing the whole album there.” Each track was recorded in one take, a testament to the Muireann’s confidence and professionalism.
Meet your Waterloo: How Muireann’s father had no choice but to hand over a prized guitar to his daughter
Muireann may have started on a little short-scale travel guitar, but she now looks to a Gibson LG-2, a Waterloo WL-S Deluxe and a Waterloo WL-14 belonging to her father.
“My favourite guitar is my dad’s. I love everything about it,” she says. John adds: “It’s the X-braced one. Muireann’s strange because the guitar has this chunky V neck and she has such small hands, but it seems to make the thumb-over cowboy chords easier for her [both laughing].”
Glenn Kimpton is a freelance writer based in the west of England. His interest in English folk music came through players like Chris Wood and Martin Carthy, who also steered him towards alternate guitar tunings. From there, the solo acoustic instrumental genre, sometimes called American Primitive, became more important, with guitarists like Jack Rose, Glenn Jones and Robbie Basho eventually giving way to more contemporary players like William Tyler and Nick Jonah Davis. Most recently, Glenn has focused on a more improvised and experimental side to solo acoustic playing, both through his writing and his own music, with players like Bill Orcutt and Tashi Dorji being particularly significant.
