Dublin’s very own Sorcha Richardson released her sophomore guitar-laden alt-pop-rock album Smiling Like An Idiot just a few months back. The album touches on overcoming life’s bumpy roads with optimism as the grass is always greener on the other side, eventually.

While her name may seem new, Richardson has been releasing music for years with her self-released first EP, Sleep Will Set Me Free, in 2012 before dropping her first album in 2019 titled First Prize Bravery that gave her plenty of attention as an artiste.

On Smiling Like An Idiot, Richardson teamed up with songwriter and producer Alex Casnoff to create this incredible project.

It takes you on an emotional journey from the coming-of-age tale of the first single “Archie” to paying homage to Dublin title track. 

She takes us to her home and allows us into her life through heart-wrenching lyrics in the sophomore album that solidifies her as one of the most gifted singer-songwriters in the indie music scene that is vastly growing each day.

Richardson has opened for artistes like Mitski, Villagers and James Vincent McMorrow, but she’s also stepping out on her own tour.

Sound of Life got an exclusive peek into Richardson’s tour diary in her own words.

SORCHA’S ROCKIN’ ROADTRIP

On Sept 23, 2022, I released my new album Smiling Like An Idiot and decided to celebrate by setting off on a road-trip around Ireland in a rented campervan with my three friends – Luke, Ross and Carly. 

We dubbed it “Sorcha’s Rockin’ Roadtrip”, and headed west along the road from Dublin, stopping at eight different local cafes, bars, record stores and bookshops, playing free shows, selling merch and signing vinyl.  

Releasing an album can often feel a little anticlimactic. You spend so long writing, recording and putting the entire together and then all of a sudden, at midnight, it's out for all of the world to hear. 

I wanted to mark the release of the album and celebrate it as much as I could, in some of my favourite parts of Ireland.

HEN’S TEETH ALBUM RELEASE PARTY

Hen’s Teeth in Blackpitts is one of the best hang out spots in Dublin and the perfect place for an album release party (or any party, for that matter). This serendipitously coincided with culture night – a nationwide series of events celebrating arts and culture in Ireland.

I played some songs from the album for the first time, my friends Domino Whisker, Dunx & Blood Donor played back-to-back DJ sets late into the night.

I'm pretty sure there was a line around the corner for most of the night and the venue eventually ran out of drink.

LENNOX STREET GROCER

The next day, we set up at Lennox Street Grocer in Portobello, Dublin. Claire and Chris (the owners) served up Idiot Fizz for the day and I played a solo set perched on a windowsill in the late sunny afternoon.

Here I am pre-show with my new “Smiling Like An Idiot” doormat (a birthday present) and our smiley mascot balloon.

GRALINN

We hit the road early on Sunday morning for Kilkenny. After a quick stop to play a few songs at the wonderful Rollercoaster Records, we continued to Fethard-on Sea, a small village in Wexford on the Hook Penninsula.

I played a free show at Gralinn cafe (well worth a visit if you're ever nearby) and as we were packing up, this man arrived, disappointed to discover he’d missed the gig.

Here’s a photo of myself and Luke playing him an acoustic version of “Stalemate” before we closed up for the night.

KINSALE

On day four, we headed further west for Prim's Bookshop in Cork, one of the most picturesque towns in Ireland. 

The streets proved too small for our campervan, so we parked up about a ten-minute walk from the bookshop and carried our Sorcha cardboard cutout, guitars, mics, T-shirts, vinyls and smiley balloon through the streets of Kinsale on a rainy Monday night.

PIANO

This is the lovely old piano they have at Prim's Bookshop in Kinsale. It sounded amazing, so decided to mic it up and I ended my set with “Honey”, a little two-minute piano song from my first album.

WEST KERRY PENINSULA

This was taken on our way out of Dingle in West Kerry the morning after our pop-up at The Green Room. We slept in the van, parked on the Marina, looking out over Dingle Bay, with the rain coming down and the wind howling around us; a very West Kerry night.

POT DUGGAN’S ENNISTYMON

I played a solo show in Pot Duggans in the October of 2021 and loved it so much, so when we were planning this trip, it was one of the first places I wanted to include.

We set up in the barn in front of the fireplace and I played the longest set of the whole tour.

ENNISTYMON

The prettiest place we woke up all week.  A little spot by the river in Ennistymon, just around the corner from Pot Duggan’s.

FATHER TED

We were supposed to go home after Ennistymon, but we found out mid-week that the album was in a chart battle with Harry Styles and 5 Seconds Of Summer and other big major label artistes, and we were also not ready to give up our campervan life, so we added a Galway stop on our way home to keep the dream alive and sell a few more records.

We drove through the Burren in County Clare and took a tourist detour to Father Ted’s House.

FAIRHILL COFFEE IN GALWAY

The last stop on our road trip was Fairhill Coffee in Galway city – a beautiful new cafe with delicious coffee and good music. 

Definitely somewhere I'll be stopping into next time I'm gigging in Galway.

We took this photo at Fairhill just before we headed home for Dublin. Tired, but happy and very grateful to all of the places who hosted us over the week, and all of the people who came to celebrate with us.

Listen to Sorcha Richardson’s Smiling Like an Idiot now.

Cover Credit: Molly Keane
All Images: Sorcha Richardson

Writer | Kevin Yeoh

When he isn’t making sure Sound of Life stories are published in a timely manner, Kevin enjoys wandering aimlessly in Kuala Lumpur city, going down the YouTube rabbit hole and discovering new music.

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