Saltaire, the Dublin-based dark folk trio of singer and cellist Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz, guitarist Ian Kinsella, and bodhrán and bouzouki player Conor Lyons, have released “Slip Jigs & Jenny’s,” the latest single from their debut EP ‘Only Moonlight,’ out now. Following their RTÉ Radio 1 Recommends debut original “The Axe” and their rendition of “Matty Groves,” the new single shifts the focus to the traditional instrumental dimension of what Saltaire offers, with Cullen-Verhauz’s cello taking the lead melody before flute by Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, banjo by Ryan McAuley, and piano by Catherine McHugh each take over in turn, layering over a foundation built by Kinsella and Lyons on guitar, bouzouki, and bodhrán.
The set of tunes has a history that stretches back to 2021, when Cullen-Verhauz, Kinsella, and McAuley performed together representing Ireland at the World Expo in Dubai, where the first two slip jigs, “Fig For A Kiss” and “The Foxhunter,” were fixtures in their set. Back in Ireland, Cullen-Verhauz brought the tunes to sessions with Lyons and Ó Ceannabháin, who added a third slip jig, “Elizabeth Kelly’s Delight,” before “Jenny’s Chickens” rounded out what the band began calling “the slip jigs and jenny’s.” Cullen-Verhauz reflects on what the track means to her: “Playing with this particular group of heads feels like a particularly appropriate love and thank you letter to a greater community that has given me so much. The arrangement came together rather organically as each instrument layers, weaving over and under one another, building momentum that ebbs and flows from start to finish.”
Saltaire’s combined experience runs deep. Cullen-Verhauz performs with 2025 RTÉ Folk Award winners Natalie Ní Chasaide and Iarfhlaith Ó Domhnaill and has played with Frankie Gavin and De Dannan alongside Kinsella. Lyons is a founding member of The Bonny Men, and all three appear on Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin’s debut solo album ‘The Deepest Breath,’ awarded four stars by The Irish Times. The trio have performed at Whelan’s, The Duncairn, The Cobblestone, and the Button Factory, and graced the main stages of Vantastival, Wild Roots, and the St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Collins Barracks, among many others.