Tribute to iconic singer-songwriter coming to Waterford next month

After their first appearance in the Theatre Royal, Waterford, which sold out last May, Cohen Unlimited are bringing back their show to the same venue to celebrate what would have been Leonard Cohen's 90th birthday, with their celebration tour.

Cohen Unlimited are a group of Irish professional musicians who banded together to create a show called ‘Thanks for the Dance – The Leonard Cohen Story'.

The show features the poems and songs of the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter, and singer Robert Doyle tells stories and anecdotes between the songs about Cohen’s life, the story behind the songs and about meeting Cohen.

The stage is set like Cohen’s last world tour and also features a visual display of his life running in the background.

The band also have the incredible honour of performing some songs from Cohen’s last two albums that he never got to perform to a live audience before he passed away in 2016.

All the band members are based in Wicklow town and are all lifelong musicians, from backing singers Louise Jameson O’Flaherty, Jhil Quinn, and Emma Nicolai, to bass guitarist Ben Dunne, drummer Keith Pogue and keyboard player Chiara Brown, musical director and lead guitarist, Fergal Cantebury, to lead singer Robert Doyle, who has performed charity shows for 40 years, but unbelievably only turned professional the week he got his pension in September 2021. 

Robert has sung Cohen songs since discovering him at age 14 and he met Leonard Cohen back in 1979, after attending his concert in Zurich. When Cohen was chatting with Robert and discovered he sang his songs, he asked him to sing for him and the band.

Cohen Unlimited sold out every performance in 2023, from Galway to Wexford and Dublin to Kilkenny.

The upcoming how takes place September 28, at Theatre Royal.