Why Is There So Much Irish Music in 'Sinners'?

As a guy who studied abroad in Ireland in 2009, I couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised by the amount of Irish music in Ryan Coogler's Mississippi Delta epic, Sinners. Shout-out to everyone in Allihies, where I stayed for a few weeks and where I'm dying to go back to, soon. I have to admit, I was eager to join the vampires in a jig when they started hitting the 'Rocky Road to Dublin', and I was tapping my feet to the other rebel songs that he put into the spotlight. It turns out, Coogler is a big fan of these tunes and had some great reasons for them being in the movie. Coogler appeared on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, where he addressed the Irish music, saying, “I’m obsessed with Irish folk music, my kids are obsessed with it, my first name is Irish.” Coogler continued, “I think it’s not known how much crossover there is between African American culture and Irish culture, and how much that stuff is loved in our community.”The lead vampire in this movie, Remmick, is played by Irish actor Jack O’Connell, and his dancing lures our heroes toward a life where racism doesn't exist, and everyone gets to exist together in eternal life. The only trade-off is never seeing a sunrise or really being able to feel again, which is the core of music. 'Sinners'Credit: Warner Bros.I was struck by Remmick singing these rebel songs, when the world he's offering the other characters of Sinners to join into lacks the very reason for that music, which is something to rebel against. It's like if they crossover, they lose out on the struggle that can make them into better people and make the world into a better place. Even a world founded by sinners is worthy because the passion and music in it give us life. That's a really deep thought and reality for the villain to embody. And that kind of deep villain is something Coogler pays special attention to. On the pod, he said, “It was very important that our master vampire [in] this movie was unique as the situation.” Coogler continued, “It was important to me that he was old, but also that he came from a time that pre-existed these racial definitions that existed in this place that he showed up in.”I loved this idea and how much depth it gave to the meaning of life and the meaning of culture in Sinners. If the juke joint is a safe place for the culture, it means what happens in the juke is special and protected from the evil outside. But if you join the outside world without evil...will you ever have art again? Those are just my ramblings, but it made me appreciate the movie on a deeper level. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Apr 23, 2025 - 02:36

Why Is There So Much Irish Music in 'Sinners'?

As a guy who studied abroad in Ireland in 2009, I couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised by the amount of Irish music in Ryan Coogler's Mississippi Delta epic, Sinners.

Shout-out to everyone in Allihies, where I stayed for a few weeks and where I'm dying to go back to, soon.

I have to admit, I was eager to join the vampires in a jig when they started hitting the 'Rocky Road to Dublin', and I was tapping my feet to the other rebel songs that he put into the spotlight.

It turns out, Coogler is a big fan of these tunes and had some great reasons for them being in the movie.

Coogler appeared on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, where he addressed the Irish music, saying, “I’m obsessed with Irish folk music, my kids are obsessed with it, my first name is Irish.” Coogler continued, “I think it’s not known how much crossover there is between African American culture and Irish culture, and how much that stuff is loved in our community.”

The lead vampire in this movie, Remmick, is played by Irish actor Jack O’Connell, and his dancing lures our heroes toward a life where racism doesn't exist, and everyone gets to exist together in eternal life. The only trade-off is never seeing a sunrise or really being able to feel again, which is the core of music.

Why Is There So Much Irish Music in 'Sinners'? 'Sinners'Credit: Warner Bros.

I was struck by Remmick singing these rebel songs, when the world he's offering the other characters of Sinners to join into lacks the very reason for that music, which is something to rebel against.

It's like if they crossover, they lose out on the struggle that can make them into better people and make the world into a better place. Even a world founded by sinners is worthy because the passion and music in it give us life.

That's a really deep thought and reality for the villain to embody.

And that kind of deep villain is something Coogler pays special attention to. On the pod, he said, “It was very important that our master vampire [in] this movie was unique as the situation.” Coogler continued, “It was important to me that he was old, but also that he came from a time that pre-existed these racial definitions that existed in this place that he showed up in.”

I loved this idea and how much depth it gave to the meaning of life and the meaning of culture in Sinners. If the juke joint is a safe place for the culture, it means what happens in the juke is special and protected from the evil outside.

But if you join the outside world without evil...will you ever have art again?

Those are just my ramblings, but it made me appreciate the movie on a deeper level.

Let me know what you think in the comments.