Kevin Conneff teams up with Tony Byrne and Joe McKenna for a celebration of life in all its local colour. The Chieftains may be no more, but Kevin Conneff, the man whose voice and bodhrán have been a mainstay of the band’s sound, is carrying on the tradition with the customary spring in his step. The Dublin Trio is a brand new ensemble featuring Conneff, guitarist Tony Byrne and piper, whistle and accordion player Joe McKenna. All three have strong pedigrees, and this collaboration bears the hallmarks of musicians whose appetites for adventure and exploration are as hearty as they ever were. Conneff’s warm voice is in impeccable shape, and he brings a fresh momentum to the title song, which he has previously sung with The Chieftains. The Pride of Pimlico is shot through with a sense of regeneration, with Conneff taking fresh possession of another Chieftains favourite, the Breton cider song Ev Christr ‘ta Laou. Conneff’s essential playfulness is writ large on Nell’s Going Away, a picaresque composition of his own based on a tune he got from Spanish musician and composer Alvaro Carbonnell. McKenna’s piping accompaniment is pristine, and his feisty accordion traces refined patterns in between and around Byrne’s finely wrought guitar lines. Hidden gemstones abound (including a gorgeous jig set, An dTiocfaidh Tú Abhaile Liom?) on this tightly packed collection: a celebration of life in all its local colour and a testament to the indomitable spirit of a singer, bodhrán player and storyteller who still has plenty to say.