Ciara O’Neill

The last six plus years have been quite the journey for Portadown-bred songsmith Ciara O’Neill. Initially starting out life as a bedroom project, the singer/songwriter began to write material on a modest classical guitar she purchased for the mere sum of £90 as a means of therapy to help guide her through a turbulent time. Realising she had tapped into something special,  these tunes led to the creation of her debut album ‘The Ebony Trail,’ which notched up praise from BBC6 Music’s Tom Robinson, Hot Press magazine and many more along the way.  In 2015 she found herself living in a proverbial suitcase and flitted back and forth to her spiritual home of Nashville after receiving publishing interest, thanks to a chance meeting at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival. It was there she sowed the seeds of what was to become her second album ‘Arrow,’ released in July 2018.

On the live front, Ciara has experienced many highlights, most notably playing in front of a TV audience of 60 million in the States, alongside Grammy nominees Iain Archer and Jim Lauderdale as part of ‘Music City Roots, Belfast To Nashville’. Her numerous performances at the iconic Nashville venue the Bluebird Cafe also rank high among her ever-growing list of achievements.