Ciaran Lavery at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2

Ciaran Lavery was born in Lurgen in County Armagh, Ireland, and attended university in Belfast, but in recent years bought a house in the tiny village (population: 824) of Aghagallon in County Antrim. Lavery started playing guitar and singing at age 15 and was part of a local country folk band called Captain Kennedy for seven years. He started working solo in 2013, and won a Northern Ireland Music Prize in 2016 for his second album, Let Bad In. His third studio album, Sweet Decay, was released on April 13, 2018.

Ciaran Lavery returned tonight to Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2, presented by Communion Music. Lavery accompanied himself only on acoustic guitar and piano to an audience so attentively quiet that listeners could hear ice shift when they lifted their drinks. Lavery similarly sang his hush-toned and lilting songs with pillow-talk whispers. Strumming his guitar softly, Lavery gave his compositions an earthy yet atmospheric ambience while maintaining a subtle rhythmic pulse. The simple arrangement of the songs sounded more American than Irish, as deeply poetic and candid lyrics provided an insightful profundity to common and mundane references. The dichotomy of freedom and isolation that comes with living in a small village seemed to permeated his colorful images of love, loss and loneliness. Lavery finely related universal truths in a manner so entrancing that he apprehended his audience in a virtual group hug. Lavery's performance was distinctive; few singer/songwriters can create a communal bond this intimate.

Visit Ciaran Lavery at www.ciaranlaverymusic.com.