Labelled as a creative and exciting musician and composer, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominee, Damien O’Kane, is on tour with his band for a short series of gigs, including a visit to Bury’s Met Theatre.

A native of Coleraine in Co. Derry, and known for his work with the likes of Anglo/Irish band Flook, more recently he has worked alongside his wife, award-winning folk singer, Kate Rusby, and her band for three years playing guitar, tenor guitar and banjo.

Music was in his blood from an early age; the family band becoming known as ‘the Von Trapps of Coleraine’.

“We were all brought up playing the tin whistle when we were big enough and once we mastered that we were allowed another instrument. My mum and dad took me and a couple of siblings to a session in a pub as we’d never experienced one before. I was only 10 at the time and there were a couple of guys at the session wearing silly hats and playing banjos.” As they say, the rest is history.

After heading to England and graduating with a degree in folk music from Newcastle University in 2005, Damien released his debut solo album Summer Hill in 2010.

He said: “I consider myself more of a tune writer as opposed to writing lyrics. With the Summer Hill album, I’d been over in England for quite some time and was missing home a bit at the time. I realised I’d moved away a bit from the great traditions we have in Northern Ireland.”

While Summer Hill was a reconnection with the songs and traditions of Northern Ireland, it was a strong friendship between Damien and guitarist Dave Kosky which led to The Mystery Inch — an album of tunes which gained the Spiral Earth Award for Best Instrumental Album of 2011. He said: “Quite a lot of it is live. We just sat opposite each other and played sets of tunes we’d played at sessions with a couple of self composed things in there.”

Whilst working full-time with Kate Rusby, he seems quite content to take a supporting role and sample the occasional foray into the spotlight. “I just really enjoy doing the odd gig here and there. My trio varies sometimes, but mostly in England it’s Ed Boyd, who plays guitar, and John-Joe Kelly on bodhran who I played with in Flook for a while.”

It’s not Damien’s first time at The Met. “We’re doing the studio again. The last time we did it, we sold out. I like the intimacy of it. But next time we’ll do the bigger bit.” Anyone who’s seen him playing with Kate Rusby will know how the band’s showcase is a highlight of the set. “It gives a completely different slant to the gigs; with Kate, a lot of it is fairly melancholy and heartfelt; then we blast them with a set of tunes.”

With the intimacy of The Met’s studio, the gig looks like being a belter of an evening.

n The Damien O’Kane Trio are at The Met on Saturday, May 18.