Like his father, JJ McNamara (now 23) was a child prodigy pianist and has enthralled audiences for years all over Ireland, UK and Europe with his dazzling technique and profound musicianship. People would always say to his father Frank, veteran of Late Late Show with Gay Byrne, “ah the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree”. Frank too was a child prodigy. In fact he was only 19 when he became the musical director of the Late Late Show in 1979, a position he held until Gay Byrne retired in 1999.

Frank and JJ are taking to the stage together to perform a series of joint concerts. The Apple and the Tree go on tour! This unique father and son duo will perform in over 20 venues all across Ireland. They will be performing Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt. The music is carefully selected by Frank and JJ to bring the maximum audience enjoyment.

Both father and son pianists are anxious to do two things: play great music and have fun with the audiences. They feel very strongly that too often, classical music concerts are “stuffy” and often the performers feel that they can’t have too much fun with the audience. On this concert, the beautiful music will be interspersed with fun stories.

One of Frank and JJ’s goals is to inspire and encourage younger people to engage with classical music.  It can be fun!  Beethoven was the rock and roll of the 18th Century, Chopin and Liszt were the pop stars of the 19th.  As a result we are offering a ticket price of €50 (excluding booking fee) for a family of four.