Following his thrilling New York appearance in the first installment of SongLives, curated by Grammy-winner Susan McKeown, Dublin singer songwriter Declan O’Rourke will return to New York for an eight-show residency at the Irish Arts Center from 20 - 28 April 2013.

O’Rourke will perform favorites from his catalogue and third studio album Mag Pai Zai as well as preview songs from his forthcoming concept album about Ireland’s Great Famine. All 8 performances will be accompanied by a lush string quartet, which will include his Irish cellist Eimar O’Grady and German violinist Christian Hertzberger.

The Dublin man’s first album, Since Kyabram, went double-platinum and was released in 2004 to both critical and commercial success. His 2007 follow-up, Big Bad Beautiful World, surpassed its predecessor by debuting at #4 on the Irish charts with his latest release, Mag Pai Zai, showcasing the best of O’Rourke’s talents to date.

Declan O'Rourke’s soulful voice and poignant lyrics make for an artist who is well loved and respected by his fans and fellow artists worldwide. His songs have been recorded by multi-platinum selling artist Josh Groban, Scottish singer Eddi Reader, British jazz singer Jacqui Dankworth, Brian Kennedy, The Celtic Tenors and Swedish pop sensation Peter Jöback.

The sensational Paul Weller was full of praise for the Irish singer songwriter in a 2012 interview with MOJO magazine which featured a compilation album of Weller’s favorite songs and Declan’s ‘Sarah (Last Night in a Dream)’. “[O’Rourke] writes the sort of classic songs that people don’t write anymore... ‘Galileo’ is possibly the greatest song written in the last thirty years,” he said.

After sold out performances around Ireland and at SongLives, O’Rourke is ready to storm New York in style.

The IAC have said that it is an honor to host such a great Irish artist and are now selling tickets online at the Irish Arts Center website:

Tickets start at $24 and performance times and dates are below:

Saturday, April 20      8pm (Opening night & after-party)

Sunday, April 21        8pm

Tuesday, April 23       8pm

Wednesday, April 24  7pm (early show), 10pm (late show)

Friday, April 26           8pm

Saturday, April 27       8pm

Sunday, April 28         8pm

Watch Declan O’Rourke’s ‘Galileo’: