Stars under the stars...

Dear Reader –

Smiles all around this weekend as the class of 2023 walked tall on the Hawk’s Well stage.

The Big Thing

Take a bow one and all!

We had two magical nights under the stars this weekend at the Hawk’s Well Theatre. More than 70 teenage musicians shone bright in our end-of-year showcase, thrilling and inspiring our audiences in equal measure.

A huge thanks to all who made this weekend possible - to the talented performers who brought that unique teenage energy to the event, but also to the wonderful crew of professionals who lent us their time and skills in order to make it a memorable weekend for all concerned.

We’ll take a break now to dream it all up again before the next show in the autumn. Best of luck to all the 6th Yrs (pictured below) with the exciting few months they have ahead of them…

Where else but Sligo?

It’s the people who make these nights, and as always Sligo came up trumps with some gems…

Katherine (not technically from Sligo (!) but has been a huge part of these nights for three years now) somehow managed to get through three years of Teenage Theme Nights without actually singing once. Clever song choices such as ‘Where’s Me Jumper’ and ‘Parklife’ were huge hits at the shows and showed off her creativity and energy brilliantly.

Anna crept onto the stage at our last show in March for her TTN debut and played guitar to accompany her friend. This time she led a 5-girl ensemble and rapped her way through Hamilton’s My Shot in one of the highlights of the show. Incredible stuff!

Kian too only joined us in March but left his mark on the nights with his endearing modesty and some fantastic drumming. Last time on Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters and this weekend on My Shot. Not easy!

Noah (pictured above with trumpeter Johannes and I) also only got involved this year, but smiled, danced and grooved his way through the bass part on Love Shack like someone who had been on the stage for years.

Finally Lorcan (below) is off to El Salvador this week with the Irish surf team. Before he left though, he and his brother Ethan went all Jake and Ellwood on us with an energetic (to say the least) performance of Everybody Needs Somebody.

What’s New?

1. “I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT SOONER”: Unusually, this particular 6th Yr group was full of Theme Night debutants. And while it was great to have them all involved this time, many expressed the above view to me. It’s not easy to get up and perform in front of your peers at any age, let alone your teens, but I have yet to meet someone who regretted getting involved.

2. SODAJERKER: Fantastic songwriting podcast. Regular letter readers will recognise the most recent guest!

3. NO GOOD DEED: ‘Roast’ (noun, slang) - a song that is really hard to play.

   There’s always one in a show, and this was it this time. Eddie Lee reckoned the composer must have been listening to some 70s prog rock when he wrote it. I was running behind on the day of rehearsals and so had to get up at 5.30am to learn the song. I took one listen and wanted to get back into bed. But like all challenges, it was worth it. Great fun to play - thanks Orla Devlin for choosing it!

Finally…

Not quite sure how this song snuck into a musicals Theme Night! On reflection however it might have been due to a soft spot I have for it ever since I won a t-shirt for dancing to it in a backpacker bar in Australia in 1999 (!) and that I knew Katherine, Noah and Emer would bring great energy to it.

Till next time - Kieran.

Young, scrappy and hungry...

Dear Reader –

The class of 2023 are ready for their shot this weekend - come join us!

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - Ab

2 - C’ Ab Eb Bb Db C Ab

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

Teenage Theme Night #29 (Musicals) takes place this weekend, and this show has it all!

• 70+ teenage musicians ready to rock the Hawk’s Well.

• A killer setlist - numbers from Hamilton, Wicked and The Greatest Showman that you’ve never heard in Sligo before PLUS 2 amazing Stephen Sondheim songs.

• The return of our all-teenage string, horn and vocal sections for the first time since 2019.

• The first time a teenager will join us in the house band (see What’s New section below).

• That unique energy and sense of craic that only teenagers can bring…

Tickets are literally flying out the door but there are still some left for now - get them here.

Where else but Sligo?

OK so they didn’t give us what we wanted on Saturday night, but this Sligo Rovers side excelled in other ways last week and I’d like to give credit where it is due today.

We had a confirmation in our house last Thursday and went for lunch in town afterwards. I dropped the gang off and then parked the car, so arrived in the restaurant slightly later than the rest of the family.

As soon as I walked in the door, my children ran up to me - “Daddy Daddy the whole Sligo Rovers team is in the restaurant having their lunch”! Now usually I would be reluctant to disturb people when they are out having a meal, but it was my daughter’s confirmation day (!), so we decided to approach them with two sheets of paper and ask for their autographs.

And to a man they were brilliant. Respectful, courteous and polite, they chatted and asked questions, making two children feel very special. A credit to their team and the club.

They all said hello again on the way out, and left us all on a high for the day!

What’s New?

1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Thank you to the Theme Night fan who made me feel like a rockstar (!) while queueing to get into the Bruce Springsteen gig last Tuesday. ‘Kieran', said a voice behind me, ‘you wouldn’t have to queue like this to get into the Theme Nights’!

2. SLIGO ACADEMY OF MUSIC GALA CONCERT: A bumper week in the Hawk’s Well - this fantastic showcase takes place on Thursday.

3. SAM PURCELL: A milestone moment for the Teenage Theme Nights this weekend!! Our regular drummer Ken ‘Tonto’ McDonald can’t be with us this time but thankfully he has spent the last 10+ years imparting everything he knows (!) to current 6th Yr Sam Purcell. Sam is a special talent and will become the first ever teenager to be part of the house band this Saturday.

Finally…

Ollie White’s performance of this Pogues classic from 2018 really sums up these end of year teenage shows…

Questions:

Difficulty Level 2 - What note does Ollie hit with his scream at 0:08?

Difficulty Level 3 - What’s the name of the keyboard-type instrument that Conor is playing at the front of the stage beside Ollie?

Till next time - Kieran.

Confidence-building and friendship-making...

Dear Reader –

This is what music can do! Two different examples below…

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - 0

2 - Not many, but enough for most of the audience not to notice!

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

I had a great chat with journalist Sinéad Farrell last week in advance of the Connacht Final between Sligo and Galway (see What’s New section). She brought me back to my school days and we chatted a bit about Liz Keighary. Liz was my music teacher and went into battle with the powers that be in the music department in the school every time the school concert came around in order to get my slightly unusual choices included!

And you don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to see how experiences such as that may have influenced the Teenage Theme Night programme we have built up here in Sligo over the last number of years. No such battles for the Class of 2023 - and they have a fantastic setlist picked and almost ready to go. It was all hands on deck in Summerhill College last Saturday as over 70 of them gathered to run through their performances with the help of tutors Sinéad Conway, Niamh Crowley and Aileen Concannon (below).

Teenage Theme Night #29 (Musicals!) takes place in the Hawk’s Well Theatre in less than two weeks, and you can still snap up tickets here.

Where else but Sligo?

The last session of our Music Club took place last Wednesday evening in Strandhill.

It marked the end of the fourth season of the club and each one has been better than the last. The atmosphere in the room was amazing last week and each performance was fantastic in it’s own way. We have over 20 members of the club and each month they are grouped with different people and tasked to come up with a song and an arrangement of said song to suit the group.

Here’s some of the feedback I have received since…

“Thank you for a truly wonderful season of confidence building and friendship making. Your space has allowed energy to flow, effort to be appreciated and most of all great songs to be enjoyed”.

“Thank you so much for the music club. You have no idea how much it means to me to be part of something like this. It has brought so much to my life recently! I am over the moon with it and all it brings. I only wish it wasn't such a long break until the next one”.

The next season of the club will begin in September. Email me to register your interest.

What’s New?

1. CONNACHT FINAL INTERVIEW: Here’s the piece I mentioned above. Published last Sat in the42.ie. You may need a subscription to read.

2. SLIGO U-20s IN AN ALL-IRELAND FINAL: And it’s no fluke - they belong there. This Saturday at 1.30pm in Cavan. Amazing stuff. Best of luck lads…

3. KINGS OF COOL: I had a wonderful evening in Ballyshannon last Thursday with Michael, Jason, Stephen, Percy, Farrah and Damien as The Kings of Cool launched their debut album. They had the Abbey Theatre rocking with a brilliant set of their own tunes mixed with cleverly chosen covers. Check out a vid of the finale here…

Finally…

One of the highlights from last Wednesday’s Music Club session…

Questions:

Difficulty Level 2 - In what key is this song? Tricker than usual this week…

Difficulty Level 4 - There is an interesting 7-note piano riff at 1:43. Using solfa (doh-re-mi) or numbers, can you name the 7 notes?

Till next time - Kieran.

Truth, wit and ruses...

Dear Reader –

Many of you commented in my recent survey that you wanted more podcast, book and music recommendations - so that’s exactly what I have given you today!

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - See pic below

2 - C, B, E. A. D. G, G, C, G, C.

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

“I wish I cared about anything else in life as much as I care about musical theatre:”.

An insight into the mind of producer, director and all-round brains behind Pop-Up Theatre - Karen Gordon. Karen was our guest on the latest episode of In The Lamplight and if you want to know what it takes (and what it can take out of you) to put on a show to the standard that Karen does, have a listen.

We also discuss Luke’s national award for Best Supporting Actor, how we got on with our kindness challenge, and finish the episode with a gorgeous double vocal from Luke and Rory on Tomorrow (Annie).

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Where else but Sligo?

Francie Lenehan.

King of the strings.

Guitar stalwarts of our town such as Gerry Grennan and Seamie O’Dowd would have looked up to him growing up. I remember Georgie Gorman telling a story on his very first Theme Night about Francie and his brother John and how much he worshipped them as a young lad..

And now many of us look up to these great musicians. But it all goes back to Francie.

It’s not just his playing though. His legendary wit came to the surface in our trip to Vicar St a few years ago. And his signature shirts and shorts have inspired many a young musician’s dress sense over the years.

He played on a few Theme Nights over the years and I was always struck by his professionalism. You don’t last this long in our business without it - and he has it in spades.

He is revered by many. And we have our opportunity to pay our respects to him (and see a fantastic concert) on June 24. Nights like this don’t come around too often. I have booked my tickets and hope to see you there.

What’s New?

1. KENDY AND RAYBO 200: More podcast news today - a big congrats to Mark and Ray (aka Kendy and Raybo) on reaching this podcast milestone. They are experts at knocking craic out of anything at all - listen here (at 7:26) to hear them discussing the time we surprised audience member Mark at a Theme Night and got him up on stage!

2. MAURA GILLIGAN has produced a truly beautiful book about Coney Island. I don’t use those words lightly. Find out more here.

3. KINGS OF COOL: This great Donegal-based band will launch their first album this coming Thursday 4th May in the Abbey Arts Centre in Ballyshannon. They have kindly asked me to play a few songs with them and there are still a small number of tickets available here.

Finally…

As mentioned above…

Questions:

Difficulty Level 1 - How many times had Mark rehearsed this with us prior to this performance?

Difficulty Level 5 - How many lyrics of the song did Mark actually get right?!

Till next time - Kieran.

Crying like f***in babies!

Dear Reader –

Love, tears and Oscar Peterson today - what more could you ask for?!

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - C major

2 - Because the first chord is C minor (not a chord you would usually associate with the key of C major).

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

Theme Night #32 - The Power of Love - coming this October.

3 nights SOLD OUT (thanks to you guys)!

But if some of you haven’t got tickets yet, a fourth show (Wed 4 Oct) will go on sale here from 11am TOMORROW (Wed 26th April).

Where else but Sligo?

“Crying like f***in babies”.

I didn’t go to school in Summerhill. Yet every time I drive around a certain roundabout in Sligo now I am brought back to last February and listening in tears to Austin O’Callaghan’s commentary on Summerhill’s All-Ireland semi-final win.

My son was playing his first U-9 game of the season last Wednesday evening so I didn’t get to see more young Sligo heroes beat Galway to win a Connacht Championship for the ages. I did get to hear this description of the end of the match afterwards though. And I know that some of you asked for fewer sporting references in my recent survey, but this is special!

Then I went to see Arsenal last Friday, and apart from spotting the banner pictured below behind me (!), my favourite moment came in the 88th minute. Arsenal equalised to make it 3-3, and the two hardened middle-aged Londoners beside me turned to each other and hugged and jumped and screamed.

And I thought about it on the Tube afterwards, and apart from music (and movie climaxes when hungover!), there’s very little else that has the power to bring me to tears.

As Tadhg Coakley says in his brilliant book The Game, sport grants us shared moments of intimacy, joy and heartbreak. According to Jurgen Klopp it’s the most important of the least important things. And as Michael Parkinson said famously on the Second Captains podcast, “sport is not war, or death, or famine – it’s not that at all. It’s the opposite of that. It’s to persuade us of a life outside of that… that’s why sport’s important.”

And it’s good to cry like a f***in baby every so often!

What’s New?

1. CONNACHT FINAL: More potential for tears (happy and sad)! Sligo play Galway in the Connacht Senior Football Final on Sunday 7th May in Castlebar. Throw-in 1.45pm.

2. TEENAGE THEME NIGHT #29: It’s the big one! We’ll be saying farewell to the class of 2023 in the Hawk’s Well Theatre on May 20 and 21. Tickets available here.

3. ADELE: Star quality. What a writer. What a voice. Guest appearances by Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder. And she hates musicals (but delivers an amazing version of Don’t Rain on My Parade)! Just watch it.

Finally…

Thanks to student Rory Conneally for reminding me about this beautiful piece this week. King Oscar!

Questions:

Difficulty Level 5 - Write a chord chart for the first 8 bars of the piece (up to 0:15).

Difficulty Level 3 - What are the ten bowed notes played by the bass? 0:17-0:38.

Till next time - Kieran.

And the theme is...

Dear Reader –

Thanks for all your theme suggestions last week! One of them has been picked as the theme for October’s show. It’s announced below, but first see can you guess it from this picture!

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - 4

2 - 3a, 4, 4+, 4a

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

Theme Night #32 - The Power of Love.

3 nights SOLD OUT.

Tickets for 4th show (Wed 4 Oct) on sale here from 11am next Tuesday April 25th.

And the last shout on this - if you haven’t filled out my short survey on how to improve these letters you can do so here - thanks!

Where else but Sligo?

Love takes many forms of course, and showcasing the variety of love (and sometimes lack of it) in our world through music is something that really excites me about the upcoming show.

My favourite love story of the last week happened on Saturday night - not in Sligo (!) so please forgive me for including it here. I was standing outside a Dublin pub in the evening sunshine, enjoying a quiet moment (and the fact that my brother had gone inside to buy me a pint). There were a few dogs around, and two of the smaller ones were having a go at each other.

They were both on leads and their owners were making small talk and doing a good job of ignoring them. Until a youngish man with dreadlocks came along and asked could he take them both for a short walk. The owners were delighted I think, and so off the three of them went to a nearby green, tails and dreadlocks wagging. I watched with interest to see how this would go, but the dogs immediately became the best of friends and returned a few minutes later to sit beside their owners (and each other) happily and peacefully!

You see if you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around!

What’s New?

1. PADDY KEYES: This young Sligo singer (and Teenage Theme Night graduate) has not only made the last six in the nationwide Local Hero contest, but also released his new single last week.

2. PETCU O’LEARY DUO: Check out this exciting gig - next Sat April 29 in The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon.

3. RIP AHMAD JAMAL: Miles Davis once said: “All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.” Among other things, he was the king of space, and The Guardian wrote these words about this great American jazz pianist..

Finally…

Surely we’ll have to include this…???!!!

Questions:

Difficulty Level 1 - The first chorus starts at 0:57. In what key is it?

Difficulty Level 3 - The verse is in a different key however. How do we know this?

Till next time - Kieran.

When the little guy wins...

Dear Reader –

I’m looking for your ideas! Also - a book that kept me awake at night (is that a good thing?) plus a great underdog story.

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter:

1 - 2 (Michigan, New Jersey).

2 - 1 3 4 3 1 5 (or doh mi fa mi doh soh).

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

I need a theme!

Theme Night #32 takes place in October and it’s time to start thinking about it.

There is no theme for the show as of yet but I’m hoping to have it picked by the end of the month. And given that the last three themes have all come from you guys, I’d love to hear your ideas again this time please!

One more (big) thing - a huge thanks to everyone who responded to my short survey last week. If you haven’t done so yet, I’d love it if you would. It will take less than 5 mins of your time and will help me write more interesting letters in the future!

Where else but Sligo?

We were at a family get-together yesterday. The guest of honour would be mortified if I mentioned her name, so I’ll just say that it was lovely to spend a few hours celebrating one of the most generous and thoughtful people I know.

Included on the guest list were 20-25 children - from teenagers all the way down to toddlers - but happily the day passed without major incident!

Until just before we left there was a huge commotion. One of the younger children (a four yr-old) was inside the function room and had locked a dozen or so of his older cousins out. The older children were banging on the door trying to get the attention of the adults while the four yr-old couldn’t contain his excitement at what he had managed to do, jumping around and waving his arms with the thrill of it.

Magic stuff.

And I was reminded of something I heard long ago in a damp dressing room somewhere in rural Co. Sligo…

If you’re the little guy, remember that by using your brain and playing to your strengths you can compete on your day with any of the big guys. And if you’re the big guy, never underestimate the little guy!

What’s New?

1. WHAT IS BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER? A wonderful article about Sligo Rovers, Sligo GAA and the importance they have in our communities. Written by Sligo man Arthur James O’Dea for the42.ie.

2. AMERICAN DIRT: The best thriller I have read in a long time! The writing drew me in immediately and was so good that there were nights where I woke up worrying about the central characters. Order it from your local bookshop (if you’re mentally ready).

3. CHERRY BLOSSOM TREE: I usually write this letter on the couch in the sitting room, looking out at the cherry blossom tree in the front garden. And since previous letters have shown it in various stages of its life cycle, it would be a shame not to show it off now that it’s displaying all it’s glory!

Finally…

The anthem of the little guy…

Questions:

Difficulty Level 1 - There is a short drum fill at 0:24 leading into the second verse. How many times does the drummer hit the snare drum in this fill.

Difficulty Level 4 - On what beats do these hits fall?

**Hint you’ll need to divide the beats of the bar like this: 1 i + a 2 i + a 3 i + a 4 i + a

Till next time - Kieran.

Letter 100!

Dear Reader –

I remember Roy Keane giving out about a former teammate of his - he reckoned that the main reason this footballer showed up to every Ireland match was because he wanted to reach the milestone of 100 caps. Whether this was true or not, I was reminded of it today as I put the finishing touches to my 100th letter…

Last week’s answers:

Answer to the questions in last week’s letter: 1 - D. 2 - Bb, F.

**All hyperlinks in bold.

The Big Thing

Keane’s jibe was important (and possibly more cutting) because it questioned the motivation of his colleague. Because while milestones are important, they shouldn’t be the reason we do the work.

However any milestone - be it a significant birthday or the end of a year - can give us an opportunity to reflect. And today If I’m honest, while it’s nice to look back on the fun I have had writing these letters and the consistency in putting them out, what I’d really like to do today are three things.

• Thank the people who made it possible.

• Explore what the next 100 letters might look like.

• Finally learn what a semi-colon is and try to include one!

So - firstly to the newly appointed MD of the Australian touring production of Moulin Rouge - Mr. Matthew Carey. Matthew inspired many of the thoughts behind this letter in an online workshop he ran in the Spring of 2021 - more power to you Matthew - and thanks!

And secondly - to you the reader - there would be no letter without you - so thanks for all your feedback and comments over the last 100 weeks, and please keep them coming!

In order to look ahead to the next 100 letters, I would love your help. I have put together this short online survey (anonymous) and would really appreciate it if you would take the time to fill it out.

Finally - see can you spot the semi-colon later in the letter and for the grammatically wise among you, please let me know if the context in which I used it was correct!

Where else but Sligo?

Speaking of doing the work, I got the chance to record something with vocalist Niamh Farrell recently.

We were asked by Mícheál O’Domhnaill (on behalf of Sligo County Council) to record a song for a video to showcase the newly launched Yeats Trail.

RTE’s Eileen Magnier explains the project below (using some of the beautiful footage used in Mícheál’s video).

And you can watch the video (and listen to our music) on Facebook here.

What’s New?

1. MILESTONES: It’s not that new (!), but I stole some of my above thoughts on milestones from this great (and short) podcast.

2. AN EVENING OF CHORAL MUSIC: The Theme Night Choir are flying the nest and doing their first non-Theme Night gig! Still under the steady baton of Dave Flynn however. As part of a brilliant line-up. Sun 16 April - details here.

3. IN THE LAMPLIGHT ROAD TRIP: Rory and I took a trip to Athenry last week to interview filmmaking brothers John and Paul Murphy for the podcast. John edited the recently Oscar-nominated An Cailín Ciúin; Rory was beyond himself with excitement. In all seriousness, it’s one of my favourite episodes, and features the return of the ITL House Band. Listen here.

Finally…

In my very first letter I told the story of another road trip - this time in Australia in 1998. I enjoyed reading it back today.

“Going back to that year in Australia, we spent a lot of time on buses. Especially that trip to Ayers Rock and beyond. 72 hours on a Greyhound bus to get back from Darwin to Sydney. A lot of time to think.

I had my walkman and cassette collection on the trip with me, and I listened to one song over and over again. It summed the whole thing up for me. Paul Simon’s America. The country may have been different, but the vastness of the land, the bus company (!) and the things you’d do to pass the time were the same.

“Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces”. Counting kangaroos.

Because there was wonder to be found everywhere. If you looked for it.

Which was easy as a wide-eyed 18 year-old a long way from home. Not so easy when you get a bit older and a pandemic means you haven’t seen much new for over a year. But it’s still there, and hopefully we can help each other see it over the coming weeks and months”.

Thanks for reading today - and for the last 100 weeks!

Questions:

Difficulty Level 2 (non-musical) - How many of the 50 American States are mentioned in this song?

Difficulty Level 4 - At 1:49 there is a 6-note bass riff repeated twice. Using numbers (or solfa) describe these six notes. **Hint - it starts on 1 (doh).

Till next time - Kieran.