The Open House family

Open House FestivalThe Court HouseOpen House Presents
TRAIN FRIENDLY2023TRAIN FRIENDLY

Duke Special & Friends

– A tribute to Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones –

Fri 25 August 2023 • The Walled Garden

Gates: 7:00pm Starts: 8:00pm • £22.50 • Music

A Tribute to Tom Waits: Swordfishtrombones played in its entirety.

We are lucky to have four very special guests, Duke Special, Kyron Bourke, Ciaran Lavery, Mateusz Hmmyeahlevysky and Willie McLean who will all put their spin on this cult classic album.

Swordfishtrombones is the eighth studio album released by singer-songwriter Tom Waits released in 1983. It was not an influential album in the strictest sense – having been deemed too weird for the aural palettes of popular music fans, it triggered no major musical movement.

However, it is also a near perfect masterpiece.

All the songs were written during a two-week trip to Ireland and produced by Tom Waits. The record is bursting with unusual and sparse instrumentation, at times heartfelt and haunting.

It peaked at no 164 in the Billboard Pop Album Charts but as years have passed it has been lauded by NME, Spin and Pitchfork as one of the best albums of all time from one of the best American pop songwriters of all time.

‘…weirdness, heartfelt lyrics and haunting instrumentals adds up to a superior LP…’ – ROLLING STONE