Gareth Dunlop’s Powerful “Sorrow” Honors Cancer Fighter & Award-Winning Filmmaker In Documentary With Film Festival Acclaim

One of the virtues of grief is its power to bring us together. That's what Irish singer-songwriter Gareth Dunlop found when he was asked to write a song for the upcoming film A Hidden Star about award-winning filmmaker, novelist & cancer fighter Allison W. Gryphon (Allison Wilke), which will be released on November 1, 2022. After performing at her scattering of ashes ceremony & wake amongst Ireland's Cliffs of Moher, Gareth drew from his own journey of grief to write “Sorrow,” out today – along with a touching live performance from Gareth on his wife's grandmother's piano, premiered via Relix here. The song will be featured on his new album Animal, out April 22 on Zenith Café/Membran, along with previous single “Look Back Smiling.”

Watch / Share: “Sorrow”

“One of the hardest songs I’ve ever tried to write,” Gareth Dunlop said. “Ultimately, I pulled on my own dealings with grief and loss & tried to map out how that journey has been for me in the past.” When their friend Allison passed away from breast cancer (she was diagnosed at just 38 years old), fellow filmmakers Mary Elizabeth Gentle & Alia Tarraf embarked on an odyssey back to Ireland with a “death midwife,” Harvard psychologist Dr. Staci Emerson, to unravel their sorrow & find a sense of hope again. They worked at Disney together & Allison was also a producer on Netflix’s The OA - Dr. Emerson served as psychological consultant for Netflix, CBS, Cedars-Sinai, PBS. “Gareth’s music captured our emotions and became the soundtrack for our journey through grief,” Mary Elizabeth Gentle said. The song & film have already won many awards, including Best Original Song at IndieFEST Film Awards.

Gareth Dunlop recorded Animal in his own Sycamore Studios just prior to lockdown, where he also produced new records by friends and fellow Northern Irish musicians Foy Vance (Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man Records) and Lee Rogers. All three artists will soon be on tour together this spring, with Dunlop on additional duty as a member of Vance’s live band (tickets here). He’s previously toured with Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, Snow Patrol & Stereophonics. Animal was mixed by Gareth’s frequent collaborator Alastair McMillan, who had also recorded Dunlop’s first studio sessions at Dublin’s esteemed Windmill Lane and has engineered for U2, The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. 

Tipped as "one to watch" by BBC, Dunlop has released a handful of EPs and one album that have been musically eclectic yet have all showcased his highly soulful voice, with several of his songs going on to be used in the hit TV series Nashville, other shows (Lucifer, This Is U, Bones, Suits), movies (The Best Of Me, Safe Haven) and commercials (Disney, Subaru). He also has songwriting credits for recordings by a diverse range of stars that include T.I., Tim McGraw & Faith Hill and John Oates, who called him “the real deal.”

Inspired by icons such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Waits, plus a soupçon of Pink Floyd, Dunlop picked up a guitar aged 14 and soon began performing covers and original songs in live venues around Northern Ireland, RoI and the rest of the UK. In 2011, he won a Young Songwriter of the Year award in Belfast that not only earned him an invite to collaborate with seasoned writers in Nashville, an experience he has repeated many times since, but it also enabled him to tour the US extensively.

US TOUR DATES WITH FOY VANCE

May 6 @ Levon Helm Studios - Woodstock, NY

May 7 @ Levon Helm Studios - Woodstock, NY

May 8 @ Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA

May 10 @ Birchmere - Alexandria, VA

May 11 @ Webster Hall - New York, NY

May 13 @ Royale - Boston, MA

May 14 @ Center for the Arts - Homer, NY

May 17 @ Memorial Hall - Cincinnati, OH

May 18 @ James K. Polk Theater, Tennessee Performing Arts Center - Nashville, TN

May 20 @ The Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis, MN

May 21 @ Athenaeum Theatre - Chicago, IL

May 26 @ Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA

May 27 @ Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR

May 31 @ Regent Theater - Los Angeles, CA

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For more information, contact Rebecca Shapiro, Shannon Cosgrove

& Victoire Selce at Shore Fire Media