Sean O’Reilly feat. Helena Clark
Old State House Summer Concert Series
Connecticut Old State House
Hartford
Sept. 27, 2024
I was not expecting to see a full-sized harp when I stopped by for the latest concert in the Old State House’s Summer Series.
But there it was, played by Sean O’Reilly, a musician from the New Haven area who has been doing music for most of his life. His sister, Helena Clark, joined him on vocals for one of the most unique concerts I’ve ever been to.
I was impressed by the first few songs the two performed, by how the delicate sound of the harp stood up so well against the din in the background surrounding State House Square.
Then Sean started playing the harp and the keyboards. At the same time.
As if my mind wasn’t blown enough already, the duo launched into a rendition of one of my favorite songs of all time, “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys. I had the biggest crush imaginable on Alicia Keys when I was a freshman in college; I used to leave her album The Diary of Alicia Keys on repeat all night long. Hearing the opening leitmotif played on harp was beautiful. For a few minutes I was transported back to my only year at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the memories of all the friends I made down there came rushing in.
Sean said that he came to the harp by way of the piano. He’s played piano since he was a little kid and eventually got into fixing them.
“I found myself on auction sites, and I would keep seeing these like hundred-year-old gold harps,” he said. “And I guess the backstory is that one of my brothers plays guitar, so I tried to play off and on since forever and I always quit after a couple months. So I just kind of got the idea, ‘Well if I can fix the harp, maybe it’ll be like my version of a guitar.’”
That’s what he did, buying an old harp, fixing it up. He’s been playing since 2019.
I asked Sean how he managed to maintain the focus to sing, play the piano and the harp, and operate the sound board all at the same time.
“Honestly, I think maybe it might have something to do with me playing video games for a long time or me working in the service industry as a waiter, but just multitasking is something I’ve just been really used to, and I think I actually sometimes get antsy if I don’t have a lot to do at once,” he said.
I asked him what games he plays.
“Well, actually, it’s still the same game when I was a little kid, it was Street Fighter, and now it’s still Street Fighter. They just did a new one.”
Oh you know, he just happens to play the game I have listed in my biography because that’s how important it is to me. We talked shop for a while about characters and strategy, and I told him he absolutely had to attend the upcoming major tournament East Coast Throwdown in Hartford.
I also had something in common with his sister. She’s focused on singing. She told me the last time she played a musical instrument was the clarinet in high school. I did, too. We commiserated about our lost musical youths.
It can be hard to judge how much of an impact an artist is having in such a noisy, bustling place as downtown Hartford. The crowd size is not the most accurate measure; There aren’t many people who can sit still for an hour in the middle of a workday. If they have that time they’re probably not spending it in the work district of the city.
No, instead you have to watch the passerbys — how many of them turn their head when they’re on their way to their destination, how long they look back as they rush by. I saw dozens of people look back and marvel at a harp in Downtown Hartford, and the talent of the siblings who sang along with its angelic sound.
NEXTThe Summer Concert Series continues next Friday with Gift Horse.
It’s the weekend! Jamil is getting some well deserved rest.
