On May 17^th, Niall Connolly, Neal McCarthy, David Rynhart, Stephen Murray brought their Voice & The Verse tour to Treehugger Dan’s Bookstore & Lounge. The show brought together two of Ireland's leading musicians (Niall Connolly & David Rynhart) with two of Ireland's cutting edge poets (Neil McCarthy & Stephen Murray) and stuffed them into 3-hour show. Niall, Stephen, David and Neal have all performed at Treehugger Dan’s in the past, and they bring the house down every time. This show was no exception. They are all accomplished performers of their art and have taken the stage in Glastonbury, New York, London, Budapest, Melbourne and the Prague Fringe. Whether it was Niall’s songs that can make me cry with joy,  Neal’s poems that make give me goose bumps or belly-laugh, David’s blues that make you want to get up and stomp, or Stephen’s rappish ode to the “Girl Beast,”  it is not a performance to be missed. Folks, I don’t even like poetry and this stuff is fantastic. Luckily, they have promised to come back again in December. If you come out for any event this year, this is the one not to be missed.
Niall Connolly is one of Ireland's hardest working and most exciting independent songwriters. In the last year he has relentlessly toured Europe and North America where his combination of sincerity, energy, humour and superb song writing that have helped him defy language barriers, geography and, quite often, common sense! He has just released his third album, The Future Tense. , www.myspace.com/niallconnolly

Neil McCarthy studied English Literature at the National University of Ireland in Galway and began writing poetry whilst studying. His first publications appeared in local magazines and after influences and experiences in South America, Central Asia and Scandinavia, his work has since appeared in magazines and journals that include The New York Quarterly (USA), Southern Ocean Review (New Zealand), The Dalhousie Review (Canada), Poetry Salzburg Review (Austria), Dream Catcher & Iota (UK), as well as being included in an anthology of contemporary Irish-Canadian poetry. In 2005 he was short listed for the Firewords Literary Award in Ireland.

Stephen Murray performed as guest poet at the Green Mill, Chicago; The Bowery, New York; The Sweetest Word, Detroit; Laushaus, Bamberg, Landsberg and Regensberg; Minoriten Kultur, Graz, Austria; Cafe Huber, Vienna; The Bardroom, Budapest; The Bedroom; The White House, Limerick; Provocateur, Prague; The Prague Fringe Festival; Electric Picnic, Lois, Eire; The Twelve Bar Club, London; Kabaret, London. I have also appeared on US radio on 'The Lit Show' and on Ireland's Live TV. He was Cuirt International Lit Fest Poetry Grand Slam Champion 2005 and the Electric Picnic Slam Champion 2007.

David Rynhart David Rynhart's music is a wonderful mix of driving acoustic guitar and folk story telling, all presented with a Celtic undercurrent of power and spirituality. It's no wonder. His musical history includes forays into rock and roll, acoustic folk, bluegrass, and Celtic sounds. After recording "Almost 9 O'clock" with the Celtic band "Bohda" in 2003, he moved to Ireland where he performed as a singer/songwriter, playing rhythm guitar with "The Hot Club of Galway" Gypsy swing band.