When Chordblossom came into existence, it was always our aim to shine a spotlight on the artists and bands that make up the music scene in Northern Ireland. We’ve been doing it for over ten years now and one of our favourite methods is our Introducing feature.
Put the kettle on, curl up on your sofa and and join us for a quickfire Q&A with some of our favourite new musicians. Who knows, maybe you’ll even discover your new favourite artists.
This iteration of Introducing features the musical talents of Tia Bow who just released her latest single ‘Blackberry Path’.
What was the inspiration behind your artist name?
I completed a PhD at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, QUB, in 2015, which explored the creative retelling of newly collected oral histories through verbatim songwriting, sound design, performance and art installation. The five albums I recorded through this work, Homebird, Stories of the City: Sailortown, Dreaming Protected Me, LoveNotes and Station Flight, were released under either Fionnuala Fagan or Fionnuala Fagan-Thiébot, after I got married.
My upcoming album Blackberry Path moves away from oral histories to songwriting inspired by my own experiences. I wanted to distinguish this new chapter by releasing it under a pseudonym.
My French surname, Thiébot, is often mispronounced by people here, so I thought I could respell it to point towards its correct pronunciation: Tia Bow. It also gave me a shorter, punchier name that felt suited to the project and this new phase as a songwriter.
You’ve just released a new single. How did it come about and what does it mean to you?
I wrote the title track of my album Blackberry Path quite a few years ago, reflecting on my childhood and teenage years growing up in Craigavon during the 80s and 90s. When I received Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding at the end of 2024 to record the album, I decided to revisit and rework the song.
I’ve always been drawn to the visual imagery and descriptive storytelling in Irish folk music, and it has had a huge influence on my songwriting. With Blackberry Path, though, I wanted to bring in some of my other musical influences from the 90s, drawing on the sounds of bands like Massive Attack and Portishead, as well as 90s hip hop. The beat in the song actually takes inspiration from Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot!
My memories of growing up in Craigavon are quite conflicted, perhaps because it was during the Troubles, a difficult time for anyone who lived under that shadow. The song acknowledges the impact of both the good and the bad experiences, and has helped me to better come to terms with some of the more painful memories. I think my generation, and those before and after us, have all been shaped in different ways by living through this challenging time in our history. Writing the song has been one way of processing that.
Have you any more releases or studio time lined up for later in the year?
My album, Blackberry Path, recorded at Tree Song Studios by producer Michael Mormecha, is due for release on 13 November 2026. The launch event is taking place as part of the amazing Sound of Belfast Festival on 15 November at the Oh Yeah Centre.
The evening will open with a solo set from one of my best friends, Clare Galway. She also worked with me on the album in the studio and has been performing the music with me since the first Tia Bow show in September 2025, playing keys and fiddle and singing backing vocals. It’s been a lovely thing to develop the music together, and I’m really looking forward to celebrating the album release with her.
Tell us about your song writing process.
It’s very hard to describe! It’s a mixture of coming up with an idea, a chord progression on piano or guitar, and some lyrics. From there, it’s a back and forth between these elements, developing and refining, figuring out the best structure for the song and how to accompany it in a way that creates variety and interest.
Ultimately, I’m trying to create visual imagery in the listener’s mind through descriptive storytelling. I love the idea that a song can transport someone somewhere else and evoke a feeling or memory in a way that perhaps nothing else can.
Who were your favourite artists/bands growing up? Have your influences changed over time?
I was absolutely captivated by Irish folk songwriters and singers in the 90s: Jimmy McCarthy, Paul Brady, Christy Moore, Maura O’Connell, Enya, Mary Black and Frances Black. The album A Woman’s Heart had a massive impact on me as an eleven year old child. As I moved into my teenage years, I started listening to Sinéad O’Connor, The Cranberries, U2 and Alanis Morissette, alongside Massive Attack and Portishead. My brother and his friends would hang out at our house listening to Cypress Hill, N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and D12, so I inadvertently developed a love for hip hop, too. It was also an exciting time for electronic music, with all sorts of new sounds and styles of dance music emerging. By my late teens, I was listening to bands like Leftfield and Faithless.
I think all of those influences have found their way into my music in one way or another. I still love the storytelling and imagery of folk music, but I’m equally drawn to rhythm, texture and the possibilities of electronic sound.
What’s been your favourite local release from the last twelve months?
My favourite album is It’s Not Going to Be Okay by Joshua Burnside. There is something so raw about this album, which traces his own process of grieving the loss of a best friend. It recognises, with such insight, how extraordinarily important the little, seemingly banal moments in life become when they’re shared with people we love. It’s incredibly moving. The underlying message is to value what’s right in front of us: the everyday motions of life and the time we have together. That ability to magnify the ordinary and make it feel so vivid, detailed and beautiful is what makes the album utterly heartbreaking and inspiring all at once.
My favourite single from the album is Something Else. Like the album itself, it recognises the sacred in time spent together. It captures the exact, heartbreaking ache of grief, where the once ordinary moments become the very things that are missed the most.
If you weren’t a musician, what line of work would we find you in?
I’d be a dancer! I did gymnastics until I was a young teenager and studied contemporary dance at BIFHE as part of a National Diploma in Performing Arts between the ages of 16 and 18. Believe it or not, by that age I’d already decided I was ‘too old’ to pursue dance seriously. If I could turn back the clock, I’d definitely tell my younger self that I wasn’t too old!
If you could collaborate with one artist or band from NI, who would it be and why?
I’ve been really fortunate to experience some wonderful collaborations through making Blackberry Path. The mentorship I received from Duke Special (Peter Wilson), working in Tree Song Studios with Michael Mormecha and Clare Galway, and performing with Clare and Danny Trouton have all been incredibly enlightening and fulfilling. They’ve each brought something different to the music and to my own development as an artist.
But if I were to let myself dream, I’d say Joshua Burnside. His songwriting resonates deeply with me. There’s a real depth and sensitivity to his writing that I connect with. Having watched a few interviews with him, he also seems like a grounded person with a good sense of humour. The best type of person to work with!
It is intensely difficult to be successful in the music industry. What does NI need to do to invest in/develop to boost your chances?
We need more investment in artists. A basic income for artists would be hugely supportive. At the moment, in the lead up to releasing my album, I’m working around the clock to make it happen. I was very fortunate to receive funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland at the end of 2024, but making an album is a huge financial commitment, and it can be difficult to make the numbers add up.
In my experience, though, it’s not really a choice between doing this and doing something else. After completing my PhD and having my second child, I went nine years without pursuing my own creative practice because I knew I couldn’t sustain myself and my family on a freelance musician’s income. Losing that outlet, that part of myself, was so difficult to navigate. Now that I’m back making my own work, I’m reminded how important it is for me as a person to continue my creative practice. It fills me with such good feelings!
There are some brilliant organisations supporting original music here, including Chordblossom, Regard and the Oh Yeah Centre, alongside the Sound of Belfast Festival. But even with that support, it’s extremely difficult to keep pushing forward without more sustained investment in the artists themselves. We need to create conditions in which musicians are recognised as highly skilled professionals who make valuable contributions to both the economy and our culture. We need more support to enable artists to make a healthy living, develop their work and build a future, rather than constantly having to fight just to keep going.
What does success look like for you?
Making a comfortable living from making music in all its forms. I also work as a sound designer and composer, with recent commissions from Maiden Voyage Dance, so more opportunities in that area alongside more work as Tia Bow would be fabulous.
The Blackberry Path live performance is now a 45 minute show featuring ten original songs from the album, spoken word poetry and video design. I’d love to develop more opportunities to tour the show and build relationships with bookers who connect with the music.
Ultimately, I’d love to have the time and financial stability to keep creating, performing and developing my artistic practice.
You’re going out on tour and can have anything you want on your rider, what would we find on yours?
To be honest, Clare and I love a herbal tea before performing. At our recent Teach Ceoil Mac Giobúin house concert, we were asked if we needed anything and we both said, ‘Hot water for our tea!’ We’re so rock and roll! 😀
Where and when can we next catch you live?
15 November 2026, 8pm – Blackberry Path album launch – Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast. Sound of Belfast Festival. Support from Clare Galway.
If you enjoyed this feature and fancy discovering some more new artists, we suggest you jump on over to our archive of Introducing pieces.
If you are a band or musician based in Northern Ireland interested in taking part in our Introducing feature, we recommend submitting new music to us via our Contact page and if we enjoy it, you’ll no doubt hear from us.
