Gig review: Dea Matrona at Rescue Rooms

Dea Matrona comprises Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn, who share vocal duties and regularly swap between playing guitar and bass, each being proficient on both. Forsythe and McGinn met during high school, joining forces to compete in a talent show with only one spot left, and cut their teeth busking on the streets of Belfast, playing covers of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and The Chicks, among others. Their debut album For Your Sins was self-released in 2024, and they recently signed a label deal with independent label AWAL.

Opening the set with fan favourite Red Button, it was immediately clear that Dea Matrona were comfortable in front of an audience, taking the stage with the ease of seasoned professionals older than themselves. Orláith Forsythe has a slinky, playful stage presence, skipping and dancing with the intimate fun of someone performing for their bedroom mirror. Mollie McGinn is a more stoic presence with an air of the cool, classic guitarist, dressed in a pinstripe waistcoat and playing an enviable burnt red Fender Stratocaster.

The duo’s voices complement each other well, particularly on tracks such as Wilderness and Black Rain, and both bring something unique when they take the lead. Forsythe’s rendition of Magic Spell, the band’s latest single concerning a witchy woman a la Rhiannon, was a particular highlight, as were McGinn’s lead vocals on A Rebel Song, an as-yet unreleased track which marks the band’s first foray into political songwriting.

The band seem to pull from various influences to create their eclectic blend. Obvious comparisons are Heart, another female duo-led group playing guitar-heavy rock, and Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush, artists beloved for embracing all things mysterious and fey in their aesthetics (Dea Matrona is Irish for ‘Divine Mother Goddess’, after all). Vocally, their close harmonies might invoke The Corrs or fellow Irish musician Sinead O’Connor, while riffs like that of Stamp On It carry a distinct note of Goldfrapp’s early material.

Accompanied by two touring members who contributed guitar, percussion, additional vocals and drums, Dea Matrona are a powerful pairing who above all seem to have a lot of fun playing music together.

The crowd were perhaps a little slower on the uptake than the group would have liked, with McGinn at one point beseeching us to “Make a noise, Nottingham - any noise!” and Forsythe being horrified to discover a lack of witches attending.

Nonetheless, they were quickly woken up with some audience participation in Get My Mind Off, and any lingering Sunday blues was quickly shed during their rousing covers of Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well and Shocking Blue’s Love Buzz, best known as a Nirvana tune.

Closing the set (pre-encore) with Glory, Glory (I Am Free), Dea Matrona seemed assured that their headline debut in Nottingham was a success, and hopefully the first of many more to come.

Worth mentioning as well is opening act Georgian, a Manchester-based five piece who have recorded music in Amsterdam and by their own admission, have never played a venue as large as the 450-capacity Rescue Rooms before. That said, they gave the impression of calm and self-assurance as they played a shoegaze-tinged set which was well received by the crowd. Frontwoman Georgia McKeirnan was especially impressive, with a rich voice and a nonchalant onstage presence which reminded me of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval. 

Overall, this was an evening of good music and a night well spent, continuing in Rescue Room’s tradition of championing up-and-coming artists.

Dea Matrona performed at Rescue Rooms on 16th November 2025.

@deamatronaband