Bear’s Den spread their wings to take to the west

Bear’s Den emerged in a wave of 2010s folk-pop in the UK, wielding acoustic guitars and penning soft, evocative songs. Often likened to Mumford and Sons, who were regular tourmates in the early days, the shape of the group has changed over their decade and a bit together.

But at the heart of the project, then and now, is Andrew Davie – although these days without his longtime creative partner Kevin Jones who departed earlier this year.

Davie will be the central cog in a three-piece this month as Bear’s Den tour Ireland for the first time since 2022 alongside Antrim singer/songwriter Ciaran Lavery. They play the Róisín Dubh on Sunday, September 21, for what will be their first ever Galway show.

“We’ve had some amazing experiences touring in Ireland and Northern Ireland. We hold it dear,” says Davie.

“One thing we’ve talked about doing for ages is touring Ireland a lot more than just playing in Dublin. I get quite frustrated generally about how touring tends to mean you play one city and ignore swathes of a country or region.

“Christof van der Ven, who plays in the band, has spent a lot of time in Ireland. He’s always banging on at me that we’ve got to play in Connolly’s of Leap in Cork and come here and do this and that. I’m with him. I’m just so excited to be coming back.”

Davie is a big fan of Irish music and culture and cites Kingfishr as one of his favourite acts around at the moment.

Last year, celebrating the tenth anniversary of Bear’s Den’s debut album Islands, he got to collaborate with a huge Irish name. They released a new version of one of the record’s standout tracks, Above the Clouds of Pompeii featuring Dermot Kennedy on vocals, whose own admiration for the band is evidence of the impact they have had on many of their contemporaries.

“Dermot’s this ridiculously talented and lovely guy. We first became aware that he knew anything about our band when he was on Radio 1 in the UK, talking about one of our songs.

“It was Pompeii that we ended up working together on. He was so lovely about the song so when it came to doing the ten-year anniversary we thought maybe we should ask Dermot to get involved.

“It was an excuse to say hi and meet him, and he was just the best guy. It was really surreal for us because I don’t consider us to be a household name or a big band at all. Dermot’s music is absolutely incredible; all his songs are just fantastic.

“His voice is incredibly inspiring, so to be on his radar in any way, shape or form was pretty huge for a band like us.”

Pictured: Bear’s Den...first Galway date at the Róisín Dubh.