Rock Paper Scissors - Susan McKeown, Singing in the Dark (Hibernian Music)

Irish folk singer Susan McKeown performs tomorrow to celebrate the release of her latest album, Singing in the Dark. The idea for the album began with a visit to a mental illness hospital that moved McKeown to take a close look at her family's history of depression. “I was able to trace back a line of manic depression going through my father’s family,” she says. “And all those men married musicians. I began reading about mental illness and creativity and discovered they are linked." The product of McKeown's research, by way of poetry books and library collections, can be found in her song's lyrics. On “Mad Sweeney,” a traditional Irish legend first recorded in the 17th century, McKeown's haunting and enchanting vocals embrace the tale of a king driven wild by illness, who lives live like a bird or beast.