Cabaret Voltaire

Cultural events: mostly music, but sometimes poetry and other things

The Breath – sold out

Thursday 30 October 2025

Totnes, The Barrel House Ballroom

The Breath is Manchester-based guitarist Stuart McCallum and singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly. They met on the city’s gig circuit in the late noughties. An unlikely pairing though it was, he an acclaimed guitar whiz, ex long-time member of The Cinematic Orchestra and a softly spoken Manchester urbanite, she a folk singer with a larger-than-life personality and a powerful voice to match. Their connection was immediate; they formed The Breath in 2016, a singer-songwriter duo to present their contemporary take on alt-folk.

Information

Starts 7:30 P.M.
General Admission £18.50

Booking fee applies

The Breath is Manchester-based guitarist Stuart McCallum and singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly. They met on the city’s gig circuit in the late noughties. An unlikely pairing though it was, he an acclaimed guitar whiz, ex long-time member of The Cinematic Orchestra and a softly spoken Manchester urbanite, she a folk singer with a larger-than-life personality and a powerful voice to match. Their connection was immediate; they formed The Breath in 2016, a singer-songwriter duo to present their contemporary take on alt-folk.

Folk roots but different horizons… the jaw-droppingly stunning, woozy voice of Ríoghnach Connolly.

The Guardian

The Breath have released three albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. Their breakthrough album, ‘Carry Your Kin’ (2016) delved deeply into the spaces between rock, ambient and Irish folk, where layered vocals, mesmerising guitar riffs and expansive folk arrangements created a big sound. ‘Let the Cards Fall’ followed in 2018, and, like the first, was recorded with a full band granting a multi-textured kaleidoscope of sound with a cinematic sensibility.

This event is standing

References to Celtic history and cultural loss are woven into a bewitching collection of songs that span beguiling ballads and punch-the-air anthems. In support of the release, Stuart and Ríoghnach performed a series of shows – just the two of them. Stripped bare, they found a new depth and beauty in their songs allowing their extraordinary connection to shine through.

Band food