How I Became A Wave Announces Special Guests For Dublin Full Ensemble Show
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How I Became A Wave Announces Special Guests For Dublin Unitarian Church show
Harpist Alannah Thornburgh and poet Polina Cosgrave join the HIBAW line-up on 17th April
Tickets on sale now from singularartists.ie and ticketmaster.ie
How I Became A Wave, the Atlantic-inspired alt-folk ensemble led by Cork singer-songwriter Pat Carey, has announced two very special guests for their forthcoming full ensemble show at The Unitarian Church, Dublin on Friday 17 April, presented by Singular Artists. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of How I Became A Wave, the evening will be opened by two incredible artists working at the intersection of music and language: Harpist and composer Alannah Thornburgh and poet Polina Cosgrave.
Alannah Thornburgh
Alannah Thornburgh is an award-winning harpist and composer from the west of Ireland whose music weaves together traditional Irish harp, American folk and jazz. Her debut album Shapeshifter — inspired by fairy folklore and mythology in rural Ireland — earned a 9/10 from Hot Press and Best Folk Instrumentalist at the 2025 RTÉ Folk Awards. The Irish Times described her sound as “unforced, fluid and utterly at home.”
Polina Cosgrave
Polina Cosgrave is the author of two poetry collections — My Name Is (Dedalus Press, 2020) and Cargo (The Gallery Press, 2024) — and one of the most fearless voices in contemporary Irish writing. Her work spans poetry, theatre, film and the page, appearing across Dublin Fringe, Dublin Theatre Festival, the Stinging Fly, the Irish Times and beyond.
How I Became A Wave’s Pat Carey says: “At the heart of How I Became A Wave is a sense of collaboration — of connection between artists. Inviting artists of different disciplines into the creative process has been key to the journey. I’m so delighted to have both Alannah and Polina joining us in Dublin on the 17th April.”
The announcement comes on the back of a remarkable start to 2026 for the project, and ahead of a full reveal of the evening’s ensemble cast, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
Since the release of their self-titled debut album on 27th March, How I Became A Wave has built extraordinary momentum across press and radio. The album earned 4 stars from The Irish Times (“a textbook lesson in enveloping frayed nerves with gorgeous, textured music”), 4.5 stars from Louise Bruton on RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena (“This album begs you to listen to it”), and an 8/10 from Hot Press, which praised its “lyrical lucidity and sense of humanity”. Will Hermes, music critic with Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the New York Times, described Carey as “making quieter music, equally powerful, with strings and pedal steel.”
The album clocked hundreds of plays across 20+ Irish stations, earned multiple additions to the RTÉ Radio 1 Recommends List, and picked up a play from Dermot O’Leary on BBC Radio 2. At the start of this year, the project was named in the Irish Independent’s Ones to Watch for 2026, with the paper writing: “Pat Carey makes music that quietly acknowledges the strength it takes to be vulnerable, and the comfort that comes from creativity and collaboration.”
Live support slots with Lisa Hannigan, Villagers, Joan Shelley, Lisa O’Neill, Gemma Hayes, Niamh Regan and Ailbhe Reddy have further cemented the regard in which the project is held.
Event Details
Singular Artists presents:
How I Became A Wave
Plus special guests Alannah Thornburgh and Polina Cosgrave
The Unitarian Church, Dublin
Friday 17 April 2026, 8pm Tickets on sale now now from singularartists.ie and ticketmaster.ie
Album Details
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