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Tupelo is an acclaimed original Irish alt folk act with burgeoning live reputation led by charismatic lead singer.

50 words

Tupelo is an acclaimed original indie-folk act from Ireland inspired by Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey encompassing different musical backgrounds. With three albums behind them of original music, led by their charismatic singer, Tupelo’s energetic live shows have captivated and enthralled many around the world.

100 words

Tupelo are James Cramer and Kevin Duffy an acclaimed original Irish indie-folk act from Dublin and Mayo, inspired by Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey encompassing a variety of musical backgrounds and style. With three albums behind them of original music written entirely by the band’s singer, James Cramer, Tupelo have played sold out tours in Denmark and Holland, played festivals and shows in Ireland, UK, France, Belgium, Norway, Russia and Irish festivals in the USA.  Both energetic and crowd interactive, led by their charismatic singer, Tupelo have captivated and enthralled many around the World enhancing their burgeoning live reputation.

Quotes about 'The Heart's Bloodline'

‘Recommended Album of the week’ – Marty In The Morning, Lyric FM

 ‘It would be lovely to be listening to you on the San Francisco to LA drive, absolutely fantastic’ – Sean O’Rourke, RTE Radio 1

‘The Heart’s Bloodline is arguably the Dublin based duo’s best yet’
– Edwin McFee, Hot Press

‘Leaves You wanting to hear a whole lot more from Tupelo’
 – Nicky Rossiter, Irish Music Magazine

Full Biography

~ Best Folk Act, Hot Press Reader's Poll 2013 ~

Tupelo are James Cramer and Kevin Duffy, an acclaimed original Irish indie-folk act hailing from Ireland, specifically Dublin and Mayo. Inspired by Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, encompassing a variety of musical backgrounds and style Tupelo have collected an eclectic array of instruments including double bass, acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, harmonic, dobro and several banjos which they incorporate into their music. Tupelo enjoy the road and have played an impressive number of gigs since the band's formation, appearing at major festivals, playing support to some of music's biggest acts and attracting plenty of fans along the way, which they thrive off. 

 
 Having signed to Crashed Records Tupelo released their 14 track debut album 'Dirty Money'. An appearance at the All-Ireland Hurling Final at Croke Park in front of 80,000 people was the opportunity of a lifetime for Tupelo. Including the singles 'Don't Let Go', 'Firefly', and 'Irishman', the album received  rave reviews as well as plenty of airplay from Irish and UK radio stations including RTE Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. The band were announced as the 'Best Folk Act' by the renowned Irish music magazine, Hot Press. A European tour followed with shows in France, Norway, UK and Russia as well as a bigger sold out 12 date tour of Denmark.

In between the touring in those years, Tupelo escaped to a wonderful country manor in the beautiful surroundings of County Wicklow where they recorded songs for their second album with producer Joe Chester. A 4 track EP titled 'Ballerina's Call' preceded the full album release titled 'Push On'. The new album debuted at no. 7 in the Danish iTunes charts and no. 12 on the Irish iTunes charts with the first single from the album, Further singles included 'Old Country', 'The Shifting Ground' featuring  Sharon Shannon and 'Yesterday's News' featuring Eleanor McEvoy. The video for 'Yesterday's News' featuring Love/Hate actor Aoibhinn McGinnity was directed by long time collaborator Patrick Murphy and won an Underground Video award for Best Music Video. A deluxe version of 'Push On' was released digitally and included the two special versions of 'The Shifting Ground' and 'Yesterday's News' as well as six live tracks recorded at a special show in Whelan's, Dublin and also the Ballerina's Call music video. The live tracks were also subsequently released digitally as a standalone EP entitled 'Nail and Tooth' and capture the essence of Tupelo as a live act not to be missed.

Tupelo have played shows in Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, UK, Russia and more recently in the USA to play at the Kansas City Irish Fest, Michigan Irish Festival and the Chicago Irish Fest. The band's US trips included promo on Fox4 Kansas City and Fox 17 West Michigan, The Bridge 909 in Kansas City and Windy City radio in Chicago. 

The band’s third studio album ‘The Heart’s Bloodline’ was recorded in Cauldron Studios with Ciaran Byrne and Michael Manning on production and engineering duties. James says "The title is a lyric from the song ‘Solid Ground’ and these songs are my bloodline because apart from my family, that's all I've got and all I've got to give."

Taking the level up a notch with a fuller richer sound and bringing in seasoned musicians like Brian Connor, Jerry Fehily and Rob Malone. Singles released included ‘Cotton To Silk’, ‘Break Loose’ and ‘The Shriven Dust’ which was used on Canadian network CBC series ‘Hello, Goodbye’. The band also shot music videos filmed by Crooked Gentlemen at The Grand Social including a 100 strong Line-Up Choir with special performances of ‘The Shriven Dust’ and the uplifting ‘Joyous’.

New music comes in 2021 in the form of the first single from the band’s next album. ‘Safety Light’ featuring additional vocals from Cork singer Nicole Maguire was inspired by the impact of the global pandemic on young people.

James says “I wrote the song on my very first guitar which I got when I was 10 and I got it fixed up last year just before lockdown and it’s the guitar that features on the recording. It gave me a connection back to my youth soon as I started playing those nylon strings and I could feel the 10 year old songwriter trying to figure it out all over again, which led me to writing Safety Light thinking about the lost summers and those magic nights that young adults are missing out on that I had. I hope the song will ring true for people of all ages going through various things at the moment and the song to be a Safety Light for the listener."

The beautiful opening on the guitar with a bit of banjo on the way and Nicole’s vocals the song has a touch of nostalgia to help you jump back to one of those special moments in our youth. ‘Safety Light’ is released on all digital platforms on 11th June 2021.

QUOTES
“...Grade A acoustic musicianship...”
Jackie Hayden

"The quartet's debut album 'Dirty Money' is an absolute belter: a triumph of assured musicianship and thoughtful, heartfelt songwriting."
BBC Radio 2 Magazine

"Tupelo turned a mellow, chilled, laid-back festival Friday evening into a rip-roaring, foot-stomping frenzy that nearly brought the tent down, in the best possible way. A delightfully unexpected and unforgettable end to the first night."
Deer Shed Festival, UK

“A Refreshing Irish/Americana blend, part-traditional, part-Nashville
with a trickle of folk…beautiful.”
Sunday Times

“Worthy of a place on the devils jukebox, with its Mumford-esque mix of bar-room jauntiness and appropriated Americanisms. Deeply Charming.”
Metro

“Our favourite rootsy-rockers. The banjo has never been so cool.”
Hot Press