It's The End Of A Long, Long Road For Mary Black

In over 30 years of touring, there's not a lot Irish singer Mary Black hasn't done. Lauded at home, as well as around the globe, as one of the finest singers and interpreters of song to come out of the Emerald Isle, Black is as consummate a performer and artist as you'll find, highlighted by over a dozen highly acclaimed albums, countless tours, and a career which is still as strong today as it's ever been.

Black will head over to Australia in March — one of many on the bill of the 40th anniversary Port Fairy Folk Festival — for yet another tour of this country, a place she feels right at home. "I've been heading over to Australia quite regularly since the late '80s," she confirms, "made a lot of friends, love the country, always did. I've always enjoyed my tours of Australia."

"My life is running away from me a little bit, and so while I'm still relatively young, I want to do other things."

A Mary Black tour is always, for fans of her music and folk music in general, something to get excited about, and this time is no exception. However, there will be a small amount of sadness as this run to the Antipodes will be Black's last — this incredible singer is hanging up the touring life to focus more on family and life away from the road.

"There will be sadness there, but I'm trying not to think about it too much," she says. "I'm not giving up singing completely, I'll continue to sing in Ireland and I'll probably do some recording. The way I feel about it, I've been touring for over thirty years, and there are other things I want to do in my life.

"My life is running away from me a little bit, and so while I'm still relatively young, I want to do other things, so I've made the decision, it's kind of been coming for a while, and so I decided, this last year being my 60^th... I've already done a farewell tour in America, Japan, all over Europe and England, so Australian is one of the last places."

For someone who's life has been defined by this lifestyle for so long, the decision to finally stop touring for Black wasn't altogether that hard. "Well, it's been on my mind for a long time, so when it finally came, I'm fairly sure of it," she asserts. "It's not like it's been an overnight thing, and I just feel it's the right thing. I've got two granddaughters now and I want to be a hands-on grandparent.

"To be honest, when I was younger and my kids were young, I was home a lot, but I was away a lot too, and you kind of miss out on stuff. And even though I don't regret it, and I needed to do it to be complete… I don't want to keep sacrificing everything for music always. I don't want to give up music, because I love singing, but I want to take the pressure out of it."

You can't blame Black for making this decision, not one bit. There comes a time in every artist's life where things need to change, and it's now for Black. Which will make her shows in March all the more special — a final farewell, to one of the most beloved folk singers in the world.