Luka on stage here tonight

When Luka Bloom takes the stage at Kilcullen's Town Hall Theatre tonight, he'll be quite a different man from the last time he played in the town.

He thinks that was in 1980, in Berney's back room. Which was about the time that he gave himself his current stage name, famously decided on a 747 on the way to the USA.

Among the songs to be heard at the weekend are likely to be a number from his soon to be released album celebrating those two decades as Luka. Last week he talked frankly to the Kildare Nationalist about the different guy he is since he made that transAtlantic crossing.

"We all change," he says. "And when somebody says that to you, the answer should be 'Oh, thank you'. To be honest about it, I think I'm a happier person. I hope I'm a bit more relaxed. And I'd like to think that I'm a little bit better at my job, too."

That last might sound a little coy. But it is a truism that music is the kind of business in which you're always serving your time. Certainly, for Luka, it is like a constant journey.

"You're always exploring and pushing out the boundaries. Sometimes you make good records, and sometimes they're not great. I never seek out a comfort zone, I'm always looking for ways to challenge myself. So that I'll be fresh, and that's what keeps me young."

And he's very clear about that challenge. Then, now, and tomorrow. It is always about the song. "Obviously you look forward to the gigs, and I'm really looking forward to Kilcullen, but it's always about the songs, because the songs determine the gig. The song is the raw material for every gig and every record."

The songs have changed. When he was younger there was a lot of introspection, with the weight of the world sitting firmly on his shoulders. A lot of tragedy. "But over recent years I have consciously opened out, to try and write songs that reflect the nature of my life now as an optimistic person, a very hopeful person."

He has a cycle in his musical life. About two years in duration, starting when he has written enough material for a new album. Then he stops writing, deliberately. "I like the feeling of stopping and just celebrating the songs that are already there. At a certain time my life will have shifted a bit and I go back to writing again and I feel like a newcomer to it."

After the latest hiatus, while working on the production of his latest album in his home in Blacktrench, he wrote his first recent song just a couple of weeks ago. It was a very personal one.

"It was based on a day I spent with my entire family, including my cousins from England who came over to visit my Uncle Jimmy's grave in Meath. It was the very first time seeing his grave, and I just wrote a very simple song about the dream-like experience we all had there.

He might not ever record that song, he says. Perhaps it will be kept for his family. He says that for every 10 songs he writes that end up on a record, there are 10 or 15 more which he sets aside. Maybe because they're too personal, or because he doesn't want to put them out in the public domain.

His audience in Kilcullen is likely to be a broad mix. The Berneys back room people ... and maybe their children. "I suppose it's one of the joys of getting a little bit older that you come across a second generation coming to hear you live for the first time. But I suppose, in truth, most of my audience are ageing along with me as well.

Tickets for the Luka Bloom gig are available at Bernard Berney's Chemists.