Dear Reader –
Thanks for your support on this week’s Theme Night #31 - we are almost ready for you!
**All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
No. 5 in our series of Theme Night #31 stories is about Theme Night regular Siobhan O’Farrell and her talented daughter Leah Davidson.
After last year’s Young Songwriter’s Showcase, Leah was chosen to receive the chance to make a music video for her song and to record it in a professional studio. A huge thanks to Rory and Rummy at Temper Hound Productions and Luke at The Blue Room Studio who made this happen.
The track will be released tonight (Tuesday) at midnight and will be available on YouTube and Spotify. I’ll make sure to include it in next week’s letter. It features musicians Nils Kavanagh, Eddie Lee and Sam Purcell - and Leah’s brother Thomas also made a huge production contribution to the track.
PS speaking of Luke and Rory, stay tuned for some In The Lamplight news…
Where else but Sligo?
Yesterday was the day that we all got to hear the music for this week’s Theme Night #31 come together for the first time. And I was reminded of this quote (which I must have uttered to local scribe Jim Gray as he included it in the fantastic book he co-wrote last year). The two disciplines involved is Gaelic Football and music…
“In both disciplines, the emphasis is always on the value of teamwork. As a footballer, a togetherness, a camaraderie, a belief in each other is essential. Precisely the same traits would be to the forefront of my career in music. These shows would be nothing without the dedication and talent of the people I work with, and their willingness to work hard alongside me”.
This bunch of absolute stars below (and many more) have poured gallons of their 2023 energy into creating and learning the music for this show - and it’s nearly ready for you all!
What’s New?
STORY NO. 4: About Tabby Callaghan…read it here.
THEME NIGHT DEBUTANTS: Loads more Theme Night newcomers this week - looking forward to introducing Brian Devaney, Jaidyn Gieni, Ronan Callaghan, Joe Gorman, Eileen McDevitt, Annie Buick, Vanessa Job, Orla Devlin, Leah Davidson, Stephen James Smith and The Pound Street Band to you all. Also Niamh Farrell’s first live show with us!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Given the timing of this show, it feels like 2023 will only really begin once it’s over. The usual January opportunity to pause and reflect hasn’t happened yet. So a reminder for anyone who needs it that we can all choose to start new projects, hobbies or habits any time - we don’t have to wait until a certain date on the calendar.
Finally…
I mentioned Niamh Farrell earlier - this may be her first live Theme Night, but she and her brother Sean took part in one of our lockdown Theme Nights - and this remains our most watched Theme Night video on YouTube - it’s just beautiful - take a minute and listen.
Till next time - Kieran.
