Martin Hayes is regarded as one of the most significant talents to emerge in the world of Irish traditional music.

The concept of Common Ground Ensemble, his latest project, emerged gradually in recent years while producing and curating concerts for various festivals, often bringing together fresh collaborations and forming special ensembles for these events.

Hayes aimed to create an ensemble of musicians from different backgrounds who also have connections to Irish music - the common ground of their name. The line-up emerged to encompass Cormac McCarthy (piano, ‘Cottage Evolution’), Kate Ellis (cello, Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble), Kyle Sanna (guitar, a collaborator with Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile) and Brian Donnellan (bouzouki / harmonium / concertina, and, like Hayes, an alumnus of The Tulla Céilí Band).

Collectively they possess a wealth of talent spanning the worlds of traditional Irish music, cutting edge contemporary classical, jazz improvisation and experimental music. In The Common Ground Ensemble all of these genres are interwoven with the core elements of the tradition in a way that also gives each musician’s remarkable talents the space to shine. Or as Hayes summarises, “I want this to be the most fun I can have while I’m on stage.”

“Rising stars of the folk scene” (BBC Radio 3), Owen Spafford (The Weaving) and Louis Campbell (Sam Sweeney) open for Martin Hayes. The duo have been nominated for the BBC Young Folk Award and received play on BBC Radio 2,3 and RTE1. A shared musical ‘true north’ and lasting friendship enable the duo to make two instruments seemingly sound as one. They released their critically acclaimed debut album ’You, Golden’ in November 2022.