From folk legends to viral tin whistle players – "Late Late Show" announce first ever Trad special

Host Patrick Kielty returns for the first show of the year on Friday night, and for the first time, there’ll be the seisiún to end all seisiún’s, when they bring in traditional musicians from Ireland and around the world — including many of the standout artists that are set to appear at this year’s TradFest — for unforgettable performances, stories and surprises.

Leading the lineup is folk music legend Peggy Seeger, who’ll be joining Patrick on the couch to discuss her seven-decade career and the fact that she’s still releasing music at age 90.

She’ll also pay tribute to her late husband, Ewan MacColl, with a performance of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which he wrote for her, alongside a group performance of "Dirty Old Town."

The Royle Family’s Ricky Tomlinson will also make an appearance on the show on Friday night to discuss his passion for singing and playing the banjo, as well as his connection to Ireland and why he has no intention of slowing down any time soon; with RTÉ even teasing that he might play a tune of his own.

Trad supergroup BIIRD.

After founding all-female trad supergroup BIIRD, Lisa Canny will be chatting to Patrick about the incredible year she and the band have had, which included their debut Irish tour and taking the stage at All Together Now, the Fleadh and the 3Arena, and their tour with Ed Sheeran on the North American leg of the Loop tour. Lisa will also be looking forward to the year ahead, which includes more music and milestones.

In between performances, Patrick will also be chatting to other well-known musicians, including Kevin Conneff of The Chieftains, Dónal Lunny, Fiachna Ó Braonáin and Zoë Conway — as they share stories about their passion for keeping trad alive, while in a first, one person will be inducted into the "Late Late Show" Trad Music Hall of Fame.

Also throughout the night, viewers and the audience will be treated to a plethora of trad musicians — including Wallis Bird, Mike Hanrahan, Tara Howley (who went viral for her tin whistle covers of pop songs last year, and spoke to Extra.ie about them!), and many, many more.

"The Late Late Show’s" first-ever trad special airs on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player on Friday, January 9 at 9.35 pm.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.