Irish musician Róisín O opened for the New York Gospel Stars in Solingen on Friday night. Yet, for many of the audience members she stole the show.

The 26-year-old girl from Dublin took to the stage with a guitar, keyboard and a crystal clear voice with an impressive vocal range. She played songs from her debut album The Secret Life of Blue which was released in 2012 and reached #21 in the Irish Album Charts, as well as a few newer songs like  Word-Strong.

Next to her musical talents and voice, Róisín O surprised and delighted the German audience with speaking German while explaining her upcoming tour. Not many performers would have bothered to learn a few sentences in another language, and audience definitely appreciated it.

The singer, whose full name is Róisín O’Reilly, is no stranger to the stage, which is evident when you see her perform. She’s the daughter of Irish folk singer Mary Black and the sister of Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas and has performed at venues world-wide.

I managed to grab her for a minute at the interval to have a quick but lovely chat while she was signing autographs.

Q.: How long have you been touring now?
Róisín: I started this tour opening for the New York Gospel Stars at the beginning of December and we’ll be on tour until the end of February. But I only get about two weeks off before I tour again.

Q.: You’re more Irish folk and rock than gospel. How did this combination with the New York Gospel Stars come about?
Róisín: I knew Lars Berndt, the event organiser. I’d met him before and he suggested going on this tour as an opening act as it would introduce me to a bigger audience. The New York Gospel Stars draw some very big audiences every night. And it works. We’ve been doing these shows for a while now and they’re even starting to include me in their little Gospel family.

Q.: What has the audience’s reaction to you been like?
Róisín: The reaction’s been really good, it’s been amazing actually. Obviously a lot of people don’t expect an opening act, so it’s a bit of a surprise for them when I come on stage and start to sing. But I’ve had great feedback and even standing ovations, which is great.

Q.: Do you always play solo?
Róisín: No, I do have a band in Ireland, and the four of us will be touring Germany together in March, though this time as the headlining act.
(edit.: For tour dates, see below)

Q.: Are all your songs written by you?
Róisín: Oh, that depends on the song. Some are my own songs, some were co-written with my band and friends. We sometimes do covers as well, though.

Róisín O‘s upcoming tour of Germany includes gigs in:

13.03.: Köln/Cologne (Blue Shell)
14.03.: Koblenz (Circus Maximus)
15.03.: Bochum (Zeche)
16.03.: Hamburg (Stageclub)
17.03.: Kiel (Die Pumpe)
18.03.: Rostock (Ursprung)
19.03.: Berlin (Privatclub)
20.03.: Dresden (Stresse-E)
22.03.: Frankfurt (Ponyhof)

Tickets are available through Eventim.