Blue Mandolin, the new album from Maria Butterly, will be launched at a gala show in the Knightsbridge Hotel, Trim, on Monday, 2 December. It’s a dream come true for the hard-working Meath lady who is so passionate about her music and whose journey has taken her to Nashville and California.

These are exciting times for Maria. The Laytown native is among the most focused singers and musicians on the circuit, pioneering her own style and winning much acclaim in the process.

While Maria draws on influences from the Celtic and Irish Folk genre to the American Country genre, as can be heard on Blue Mandolin, she brings a refreshing spirit to her ever-searching soul.

“I have a specific style and sound that I wanted to create. I didn't want to just blend in with the other genres, but create my own as Maria Butterly," she confides.

From the Royal County, her journey took her to New York and then to California, before finding peace in Nashville, a town where so many try their hand at staking that all-important claim. For many, things just don’t work out and, in the words of an old country song: “Each evening at sundown in Nashville, they sweep broken dreams off the street.”

In Nashville, Maria sought out contacts and performed in the Bluebird Cafe. In Los Angeles she gigged in The House of Blues and at the famous Mercury Lounge in New York. She has performed alongside Bob Wooten (Johnny Cash's band), Raul Malo (The Mavericks), Hal Ketchum, Damien Rice, Eleanor McEvoy, and Mundy.

Self-taught on guitar, mandolin, piano and whistle, Maria rendered her song Quiet Man to Hollywood star Maureen O’Hara on her 90th birthday. Just a few weeks ago, Maria was down in Cong where she sang the song at the unveiling of the bronze sculptures of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the Mayo village.

Blue Mandolin features a number of co-writes, along with folks such as Kostas Lasarides and Charles Quarto who have had songs recorded by Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Mavericks and Garth Brooks, as well as our own Charlie McGettigan.

Leading publisher, Peter Bardon, has described the new release as: “The best local production to come out of Ireland since A Woman’s Heart.”

Aidan Butler, a producer with RTÉ Radio 1, says: “This is a cracking album.”

Maria was a finalist in Glór Tíre on TG4 earlier this season. Her single releases, Angel and Blue Mandolin, have helped spread the Maria Butterly message much further afield.

Prior to the launch night in Trim, Maria will do a one-hour in-store performance and signing of her album in CD World, Drogheda, on Saturday, 30 November, at 1pm.

Joining her for the concert launch in the Knightsbridge Hotel on Monday night will be Mick Hanley (Past The Point of Rescue) and country singer Matt Leavy from Meath. A number of top musicians, including Bill Shanley, guitarist and producer of Maria's album, will join her on stage. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are €15. For more information, call 046-948210 or see www.mariabutterly.com.

• Maria will also perform a special concert in the Dungeon Bar of Ashford Castle Hotel, Cong, on Monday, 9 December.