Joseph Chester

Joe Chester's albums have been written about in the books 101 Irish Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, by Tony Clayton-Lea and Buried Treasure by Dan Hegarty and featured recently in The Sunday Times list of the best Irish albums of all time - "Chester's debut solo album is a perfect pop record. The songs are at once effortless, memorable, hook-laden and a masterclass in subtle dynamics."

His fifth album, The Easter Vigil, meanwhile, was named 2017 Irish Album of the Year by The Sun who described it as, "A tonic for these times, a triumph of substance over style."

Jupiter's Wife, his sixth studio album ( a double album, partly recorded at the legendary Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee) was named “One of the greatest Irish albums of the decade,” and voted Best Irish Album of 2020 by the Irish Daily Mirror.

In 2021 he scored a worldwide Number 1 on the Bandcamp Contemporary Classical chart with “Carolan/Cage,” an EP of guitar transcriptions of works by the Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan and the American composer John Cage.

He has been nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, the Meteor Irish Music Awards for Best Male Artist and for Best Album in the RTE Folk Awards (with The Hedge Schools.)

A producer of over 60 albums for other artists, including multi-platinum and Number 1 albums and singles both in Ireland and overseas (including steering Finbar Furey to his first Number 1 in 26 years), he was until recently one half of the critically acclaimed Hedge Schools, has been lead guitarist of The Waterboys, toured extensively with Gemma Hayes, accompanied Sinead O'Connor and performed for Irish president Michael D. Higgins.

He is guitarist and producer of Dublin group a lazarus soul whose 2019 album, "The D They Put Between The R & L" was voted album of the year (and indeed the decade) by numerous end of year polls.

Hotpress Magazine have described Joe Chester as "A legitimate giant of Irish music."

On June 16th, 2022, Axis Ballymun in Dublin will present the world premiere of LUCIA, a suite for classical guitar and strings composed by Joe Chester, inspired by the life of Lucia Joyce.