Imelda May Raised on Songs & Stories

Globally revered Irish artist Imelda May has today announced her new “Raised on Songs & Stories” tour across Ireland. The Raised on Songs & Stories tour will present a unique series of intimate evenings featuring new stripped back versions of her wide discography and favourite songs, integrated with her famed poetry & storytelling. 

Imelda says: “I’m coming to you soon! 17 nights of an Irish tour. It’ll be an evening of songs, poems, stories, joy and beauty. This idea evolved naturally over the last couple of years. You see, when I write, produce and release an album I get so excited to perform the songs live that I fizz up and plan and rehearse gigs with such enthusiasm that I’m like a little thrilled whirlwind but too often I leave room for little else. I work out which songs will flow best into another to create the vibe desired that I sometimes don’t leave much space for the unknown which is where a different magic lies. This space is the place where I exist most and write and create. So it feels right to stay there a while. To have a gig where someone might ask for a song I haven’t visited in a while and I think ‘yeah let’s give it a go’, or where I can tell you the stories behind the songs and how I ended up working with some of the people I’ve worked with so far. Not a ‘show’ this will be a shared night of what music, art, connection and creativity means to me, with you.” 

Also coming soon on RTE 1 and the RTE Player Imelda is taking part in a new six-part series Amhráin na nGael, Imelda May: The Songs of the Irish, uncovering the work of Ireland’s great music collectors. 

In the series, Imelda May embarks on an exploratory and emotional journey across Ireland’s Gaeltacht regions as she challenges her relationship with the Irish language through songs and sean-nós singing. Following in the footsteps of the great music collectors, she digs deep in her attempt to understand each and every word from these songs that she takes on. Will she find songs that resonate with her emotionally, and will she connect with this traditional style of singing?

Born and raised in The Liberties area of Dublin, Imelda May has become one of Ireland’s most celebrated female artists as a singer, songwriter, actor, producer, poet, presenter and storyteller. Imelda’s breakthrough album Love Tattoo (2008) remains the best-selling album of all time by a homegrown female artist in Ireland, whilst her most recent album 11 Past the Hour (2021) marks her 4th No. 1 album in Ireland and 4th Top 10 in the UK. Her debut poetry book A Lick & A Promise (2022) is already on its third re-print, with the Irish government using one of her poems on billboards across the country for their “ReThink Ireland” campaign as well as included in the school curriculum.

 A dynamic live performer with her unique blend of rockabilly, jazz, rock and blues she has toured across the world and performed with legends such as Jeff Beck, Lou Reed, Bono, Noel Gallagher, Jeff Goldblum & Ronnie Wood. This year she joined Jools Holland on a string of summer shows as well as performing with Sharon Shannon’s Big Band on shows celebrating the repertoire of her dear friend Shane McGowan. 

Imelda’s recent turn to the silver screen saw her glowing debut in Top 5 UK film Fisherman’s Friends: One and All, a stunning portrayal of ‘villain’ Eve in psychological thriller ‘The People Before’ which screened across film festivals this summer, with her next film role as Pierce Brosnan’s wife in Four Letters of Love, out in 2025. Imelda’s first foray into theatre, a one woman show ‘Mother of All The Behans’ by director Peter Sheridan received all 4 & 5 star reviews resulting in its return for a second summer at the Olympia, Dublin with more shows in 2025 across Belfast, Cork, Waterford and Dublin. A true creative, Imelda immerses herself in art across many forms, and these special Irish evenings will showcase her unique ability to evoke the purest of emotion using her voice as her sole instrument.