And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak…
Dear Reader - this was the feeling I had at a gig last Friday night anyway.
But also…
The Big Thing
What a way to start the week yesterday as Kevin Egan handed over the keys of the car I get to drive for the next while.
As mentioned in a previous letter, Kevin has kindly asked me to be a brand ambassador for Peugeot and it has been a pleasure to work with him and his team so far.
As you can see, the car in question is a brand-new Peugeot 5008 and I don’t know who in our house has been more excited to try it out!
No bus to school for my daughter this morning - she wanted a spin and was busy figuring out which friends she would invite so we could use all 7 seats. My son sat in on the handover so he could show me how to use the amazing technology, and Sinéad is in love with the heated steering-wheel!
It really is a great family car and I look forward to spinning around in it over the coming months.
Where else but Sligo?
This is Kenya.
A member of our Theme Night Academy, she wrote and performed a beautiful song called Frames at last year’s Young Songwriter’s Showcase.
Our team of Rory Maitland, Luke Devaney and James McManus have been making some magic around the song and music video and we look forward to presenting it to you all in the coming days.
We hope to premiere it at this year’s Young Songwriters’ Showcase - taking place in the Hawk’s Well Theatre this Sunday 26th Jan at 8pm.
And it’s the biggest yet!
Steve Wickham presented a masterclass on songwriting before Christmas and something must have been in the water that night, because more than 20 new songs from our Theme Night Academy musicians are coming your way this Sunday night.
Tickets here.
What’s New?
TRAD JAZZ: I saw a gig on Friday that reminded me of the joy I get from this music. Trumpet, piano, drums and an hour of heaven. What’s more I got chatting to the piano player and he is in college in Birmingham with Teenage Theme Night graduate and former student Conor Bastible. Small world!
PLAYLIST: We also discovered the secret to a good playlist that night - pick great artists - not necessarily A-listers but great nonetheless. Then don’t pick their hits, but maybe a lesser known album track. That way the listener can immediately recognise the quality of the music yet still experiences mystery due to not recognising every song or artist.
COOLERA LIPSYNC FUNDRAISER: OK they have excelled on the pitch over the last few months - let’s see what their on-stage credentials are like! It should be a great night of fun - and I might even do one or two myself. All for two good causes. Tickets via the QR code below.
Finally…
Some of the finest ever players of trad jazz.
Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Ray Bron and Ed Thigpen.
Till next time - Kieran.
