By Bob Makin
originally published: 09/19/2025
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is a cover of Sinéad O'Connor's "Dense Water, Deeper Down" by Helen O'Shea featuring vocals by Brielle Brown, Sharon Lasher, Fiona Tyndall and Jo Wymer. PHOTO BY MARIA WURTZ
With the heart of a healer and the grace of grit, Ireland-born, Princeton-based Americana artist Helen O'Shea continues trailblazing a path of hope and possibility with a series of singles leading up to her third full-length album, “Songs in the Key of O.”
Produced and co-written by two-time Grammy winner Marc Swersky, the March 6-bound album is a dedication to the late Irish singer-songwriters Sinéad O’Connor and Dolores O'Riordan. The first single, a cover of Sinéad’s “Dense Water, Deeper Down,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Dense Water, Deeper Down” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 19 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin, Mixcloud and RadioJersey.net.
“Sinéad O'Connor's debut on Ireland’s ‘Late Late Show’ had a profound impact on me during my time in medical school,” Helen said. “She exploded on the screen with a crew cut and a tank top screaming ‘Mandinka.’ Many Irish girls were transfixed by this new vision of womanhood — gentleness and anger, ferocity and determination —with a beautiful voice. Sinéad O'Connor encouraged a new generation of Irish youth to be true to themselves like never before.”
Taken from Sinéad’s 2014 album "I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss,” "Dense Water, Deeper Down" inspired Marc to gather some of the best local singers — Brielle Brown, Sharon Lasher, Fiona Tyndall and Jo Wymer — into Dug Deep Production in Asbury Park to create a Jersey Girls tribute to Sinéad.
“Dense Water” also features a band consisting of Andrew Carillo (Joan Osbourne), Rob Clores (The Black Crowes), and Aaron Comes (Spin Doctors).
“Songs in the Key of O” also features collaborations with The Carlile Family Band, Michelle Moore from the E Street Band, Liam Ó Maonlaí from Hothouse Flowers, Barry Murphy from Hermitage Green, and singer-songwriters James Maddock and Brad Butcher. Personnel also includes violinists Nathan Bishop and Nicole Scorsone and harmonica by Carlile Family Band’s Jay Carlile, brother of singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, another one of Helen’s biggest influences.
“Songs in the Key of O” follows Helen’s 2017 debut LP, “Turning Tides,” and her 2023 sophomore outing, “Sturdy Souls,” the quasi title track of which is an original tribute to Brandi.
The forthcoming LP’s most recent single is an original tribute to Sinéad and Dolores entitled “Rock And Roll Angel.”
Helen said, “These two iconic, flawed, powerful, countrywomen of mine have inspired every step of my musical journey, and this album is my tribute to their way too short lives — but, boy, did they both burn brightly while they could!”
Helen’s journey from medicine to motherhood to music embodies resilience, reinvention, and the power of learning to heal. Blending Americana and Celtic influences into her signature sound, which she calls AmeriCeltiCana, her music and message resonate deeply with women and mothers rediscovering themselves later in life.
You can experience her live Oct. 18 at The Headliner in Neptune for the second annual Sisters For A Cure Concert, a benefit for Susan G. Komen Foundation, which battles breast cancer, and the Mary’s Place by the Sea women’s cancer retreat. The lineup also will include Jenny Barnes, Pam McCoy, Jo Wymer, Dawn Hopkins and many other songstresses. In its inaugural year, the event raised $13,000.
On Nov. 16, Helen O’Shea & Friends will preview “Songs In The Key Of O” live at Princeton Public Library. In January, she’ll perform at a roots festival in Belfast.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected].
About the author:
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
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(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents New Orleans–based Eric Johanson on Thursday, June 25, 2026. He blends sharp songwriting with a deep connection to the guitar, creating music that's dynamic, soulful, and rooted in a mix of rock, blues, and modern influences. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 7:30pm.
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