Meath based Paddy Smith finds grace in the blues

Music Review | 23rd Oct, 2025 Paddy Smith

Irish bluesman Paddy Smith has been carrying his harmonica and his stories through decades of change, and through it all, he’s never lost that unmistakable grit and truth that define real blues. While others chase trends, Smith stays grounded in what he does best: raw, unvarnished rock and blues. He’s living proof that Ireland still breeds artists who can balance the weight of the past with the urgency of the present.

Now, reaffirming his place as one of Ireland’s most enduring blues voices, Smith is back with a stunning new single, Could Have Found Grace.

From the moment it starts, the track pulls you in. Clean guitar lines drift over a haunting organ, with subtle touches of piano beneath. Then there’s Smith’s voice, raw, honest, and full of feeling. Could Have Found Grace captures that delicate space between life’s missed moments and the quiet redemption that can follow.

It’s a song about the moments we miss and the grace we seek after the fact, Smith says. A reminder that even in regret, there’s a kind of mercy waiting for us.

The single is also the title track from Smith’s latest album, released in September 2025 to well-deserved acclaim. The record was born from an inspired collaboration with Danny Tobin, a partnership Smith describes as completely natural.

Over three intense days, we sat together and worked through the songs line by line, chord by chord, he recalls. Nothing felt forced. We trusted the songs to lead us, and in that raw, instinctive flow, the album began to take shape.

Produced by Ivan Jackman at Hellfire Studios in Dublin, Could Have Found Grace isn’t just another blues record, it’s a statement. It’s Paddy Smith doing what he’s always done: holding the line for real blues and rock, while carving out a sound that’s entirely his own.

Paddy Smith - Could Have Found Grace

The single, Could Have Found Grace, is available through all streaming platforms.

Photo Credit: Paddy Smith/Alfredo Kuna