by Danielle Holian
Keith Donald is back with his show NewBliss at the John Field Room in National Concert Hall, Dublin on February 28th.
The musical memoir has 10 songs, 5 instruments, and 900 lines of verse. The play tells a story of Donald’s troubled and talented childhood, growing up in Belfast to becoming a masterful musician in Ireland, Europe, and beyond. The play is an insight into his life, from gigs that pay the bills to sold out stadiums.
Donald’s musical career was blighted by his addiction. He wrote NewBliss after getting sober. The play deals with his emotional desperate battle to beating alcoholism. It combines his verse, words, and music to tell his story.
The play is full of brutal honesty and humour, it reveals how he found redemption. The raw, heartbreaking, somewhat comic story is told by him firsthand.
He is a known saxophone and clarinet player, best known as a founding member of Moving Hearts. His career has spanned over 50 years and he has played on over 8 albums, as well as working with the likes of Van Morrison, Mary Coughlan, Ronnie Drew, Christy Moore, Don Baker, Louis Stewart, Gerry Mulligan, Zoot Sims, Barney Kessel, Vusi Mahlasela, Mary Black, Tom Robinson, Fiachra Trench, Noel Kelehan, and many more.
The ModernRetro Magazine 