the olllam
30 january 2025 / 8.30pm / the leadmill, sheffield
45% funded
Legendary supergroup the olllam bring their trailblazing blend of traditional Irish instruments, folk melodies, jazz rhythms, and funk-based psych-post-rock to The Leadmill, Sheffield.
7pm: doors open
7.30pm: recommended latest arrival
8pm: the olllam set
what are noisenights?
noisenights are our vision for the future of global classical music: crowdfunded gigs taking world-leading musicians to iconic independent venues.
read more
At the centre of every noisenight is a one hour(ish) global classical set. We platform international soloists and ensembles while also giving opportunities to outstanding new artists. All noisenights take place in gig venues where you get to experience classical music up close.
Live music needs your backing more than ever. Backing a noisenight means getting tickets to hear the world's best performers in grassroots venues and being part of a community working for a positive future for live music. Putting it simply, you giving your backing will make this gig happen and secure you a ticket.
After a noisenight reaches its funding target, we'll e-mail all backers to confirm it and a small amount of extra tickets will be made available. Tickets are released in four stages, which increase in price the closer to the event they're purchased. Book early to get the best price.
Due to the venue's license, this noisenight is strictly 14+.
the venue:
A fixture in the heart of Sheffield for over 40 years, The Leadmill is the city's longest running night time venue.
A keystone in helping launch the careers of bands including Pulp and Arctic Monkeys, it has been voted as Sheffield’s best live music venue on numerous occasions and has also won national awards including Live Music Venue of the Year by Live UK and NME.
the music:
Known for their trailblazing blend of traditional Irish instruments with long, cyclical melodies, fusing jazz, and psych-post-rock, the olllam continues to push musical boundaries. This show features Scotland’s whistle ace Ross Ainslie up front with Irish piper John McSherry, alongside Vulfpeck’s bass supremo Joe Dart, Detroit drummer Michael Shimmin, keyboard player Joe Hettinga, and Limerick guitarist Seán O’Meara.
read more
the olllam began with then 13-year-old Tyler Duncan from Ann Arbor, Michigan heading to Ireland and tracking down his hero, uillean piper and whistle player John McSherry. Tyler became his student, friend, and eventually his melodic partner in the olllam, a Transatlantic musical partnership enabled and maintained through early adoption of online collaboration and composition.
This collaboration resulted in the 2012 release of an eponymous album that has become a cult classic. The name derives from the old Irish word ollam, meaning a master of the highest rank in a particular skill.
As years passed Tyler established himself as a multi-instrumentalist and Grammy-nominated producer (with Carly Rae Jepsen, Vulfpeck, Theo Katzman and others), and he recruited drummer Michael Shimmin and renowned Vulfpeck bassist Joe Dart, respected as one of the finest, funkiest players of these times, to form the olllam as, initially, a Transatlantic recording project.
With this core line up the band unleashed an eponymous debut album - without ever having met or played together in the same room simultaneously. The resulting post-rock groove, lush with intricate trance-like melodies, stunning instrumental virtuosity and a magical marriage of tradition and technology, placed the listener somewhere between Radiohead and Planxty, or Tortoise and the ambient emotionalism of the Gloaming.
This live show follows up the olllam’s sold-out critically-acclaimed debut tour of England in early 2024.
Rewards: standing tickets to noisenight190 at 8pm on Thursday 30 January 2025 at The Leadmill, Sheffield. First-come, first-served for the best views.
support us
Can't attend any of our upcoming noisenights but still want to support live music and be part of our crowdfunding community?
Your donation means that we can continue to attract the UK's best musicians to our noisenights series and push the boundaries of live classical music. It also means that we can keep our events guide independently curated and expand our mindmusic programme which promotes mental health and wellbeing in our local communities.
