Dear Reader –
Current 6th Yr and emcee Senna O’Hara was introducing a younger performer to the stage during last Saturday’s Teenage Theme Night #25. She told the story of how the song about to be sung was the song she sang on her very first Teenage Theme Night in 2019. She remembered the pun with which then-emcee Callum Wall had used that night to introduce her. So in a lovely moment, she brought things full circle and said she would use the same words now that the tables had turned.
The song: Bowie’s Life on Mars?
The line: “This is Ciara Courell, and she’s out of this world"!
All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
But first…we’re off to Dublin tomorrow, and I can’t wait!
I’m a huge fan of Second Captains - the Irish sports podcast with an illustrious international reputation. So it was a nice surprise to get a call recently from producer Mark Horgan asking me to put a house band together for their upcoming 6-night run in Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre. It starts tomorrow, and Sligo will be well represented with Luke Devaney, Mark Kennedy and Ken McDonald joining me in the band.
Mark put together this beautiful piece when Jack Charlton died in 2020. It features music from the late Conor Walsh. Both shared a love of football and fishing on the Moy. I always loved Conor’s music and it will be an honour to play this piece live.
Where else but Manorhamilton?
Or Manor, as the lads from Grooveline call it!
Bronwyn, Cian, Evan, Glenn, Matthew and Tarach made the long trip along the N16 on Friday night and blew us all away on the first night of Teenage Theme Night #25. Energy, musicianship, entertainment - these guys had it all (see pic below). They are a band that seem to be going about things the right way - working hard on their instruments, their songs and their sound - all the while having fun. You can hear their music here.
I’m singling them out here because it’s so rare that we get a fully formed band at these nights and they certainly brought something fresh to the shows. They were by no means the only stand-out performers however. 2020 graduate Jack Courtenay (pictured above) and 2017 graduate Gillian Brennan returned and showed where you can get if you continue to work at your craft. And without mentioning any more names, there was huge variety and lots of memorable moments provided by the current crew.
There is a real sense of momentum after the weekend, and we’re all now looking forward to two more Teenage shows before the school year finishes - details in the What’s New section below.
What’s New?
YOUNG SONGWRITERS AWARD: The return of this event - Friday April 15th in The Model. An opportunity for the teenage musicians of Sligo (and maybe even Manorhamilton!) to showcase their original music.
TEENAGE THEME NIGHT #26: Our 6th End-Of-Year showcase will take place in the Hawk’s Well Theatre on May 14th and 15th. Tickets went on sale today so your favourite seats should still be available.
DOGS: Last week’s Sligo Weekender column is about my dog, and how he risks his life for love.
Finally…
We were all brought back to the early 1990s at Teenage Theme Night #25 this weekend by Katherine McBride and her band. In her own words - ‘what a banger’.
Till next time - Kieran.
