Dear Reader –
It’s Theme Night week! And we’re back in the Hawk’s Well as of yesterday. I can’t wait to see many of you over the next few days at the show. It’s that nervous time of the week where you’re hoping that all the various plans and ideas you have been cooking up over the last few months actually work! We’ll know very soon I guess…
The Big Thing
But first today - some memories of Theme Night #31. Our new Theme Nights YouTube channel officially launched on Sunday night - and here’s our first video!
Sarah Crummy with a simply stunning version of Don McLean’s Vincent…
Where else but Sligo?
‘Steve Wickham is a rock star’.
This is a common reaction to Steve’s Theme Night performances. The combination of his presence, his voice, the way he gives himself entirely to a song and of course his fiddle playing really works for audiences. He performed his own song Pascal at Theme Night #31 and it was without doubt one of the highlights from the show.
I first heard the song over a decade ago. Steve brought myself and Ken ‘Tonto’ McDonald out to a studio out beyond Bunninadden to record it with our Odd Couple bandmate Eddie Lee and the rest of the No Crows crew. It was the first time I had been asked to play on someone else’s song in a studio setting and I was nervous. Especially because of whose song it was.
But Steve was great. It was clear he had been in the studio all his life, and he knew how to elicit performances from us. It wasn’t so much about the notes you played, but the way you played them. Huge lessons learned that day.
Connect with the song.
How does it make you feel?
How do we get the story of Pascal across best through our music?
What’s best for the song?
January’s Theme Night performance (below) was quite different from that studio recording, but the same principles applied for Steve. It’s magnificent - take a look…
What’s New?
THEME NIGHT #32 ON TOUR: Remember that if you don’t have tickets, the only place you can get to see Theme Night #32 is in Ballyshannon on Sat Oct 21…
NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS: You can find us now on Facebook, Instagram or our special Italian TikTok account! All the Theme Night news still available here first every Tuesday though!
MORE NEW THEME NIGHT VIDS: We’re taking a breather tonight, but from tomorrow (Wednesday) on, we’ll be releasing five videos on consecutive nights - the first three of which were recorded in McLynn’s recently - thanks to Darragh and the gang there for having us. What a beautiful spot…
Finally…
Sarah has come up with many great arrangements over the years - here’s one from Theme Night #17 - her version of To Win Just Once by The Saw Doctors.
Till next time - Kieran.
