Johnny McEvoy headlines in Loughrea

Tom McBride Jnr will make his debut in the west of Ireland at a gala concert in the Lough Rea Hotel in Loughrea on Tuesday night, 30 April. It will be a special occasion for the son of Ireland’s most famous country singer of all, the late Big Tom.

“Daddy loved the west and he had a huge following in that part of the country. It will be lovely to meet up with many of his great friends again.

“My cousin, Damian Davis, who was a finalist in Glór Tíre, is travelling down with me and he is doing a few songs on the show as well. We are all proud of Damien here around Oram and Castleblayney. He’s a great young lad,” says Tom.

Johnny McEvoy, who headlines the big show, is widely acclaimed in both folk and country circles and has retained a loyal fan base stretching back over 50 years. He remains one of the most respected entertainers on the entire circuit in Ireland.

The show also features Gerry Guthrie, Mick Flavin, Matt Keane, Pat McKenna, Damian Davis, Philomena McGovern and Michael O’Brien, Mick Mulhern, Aoife Leonard, Larissa Tormey, Patsy McCaul and Michelle Murphy as well as sean-nós dancer Thomas Connolly and the Ryan Turner Band.

The compere for the show is Michael Commins and country followers are in for a real treat on Tuesday night.

Tickets for what is expected to be a sell-out show are available from the Lough Rea Hotel on 091 880088, Ticketmaster and direct from Patsy Brown on 086 1551841.

Trumpet melodies from Frank

Frankie McDonald has been part of the music scene in Ireland for over five decades. He was a member of The Drifters showband fronted by Joe Dolan and has retained an infectious love for the scene all through the years.

Frankie, along with his daughter Lorraine and son Keith, perform their own showband show nights around the country and recently featured on the Enjoy Travel Music Week in Torremolinos, Spain.

He has just released a new trumpet album featuring 14 of his favourite tunes. Among them are such standards as Midnight in Moscow, Il Silenzio, Oh Mein Papa, Tijuana Medley, Ave Maria, Hooked on Swing and Somewhere.

Sonny’s Dream on the Green Road

Green Road hails from the southwest of Wexford and the five-member folk and ball group has just released their debut EP featuring four tracks. It includes Sonny’s Dream, The Leaving of Liverpool and Will Ye Go Lassie Go as well as a richly haunting instrumental called Farewell to Govan.

The group comprises of Frank Torpey, PJ Sinnott, Ned Wall, Alan O’Dwyer and Fergal O’Hanlon. They can be contacted at 086 7922855.

Claremorris launch for Pat McKenna

The man who made a major breakthrough with his recording of The Wind On The Hill some years ago will launch his brand new album in the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris on Friday night, 14 June.

Pat McKenna from near Maghera in Co Derry recorded the album with Paul McNeily in Ballymena and followers can look forward to the same style of music that has sold several thousand albums for Pat over the last few years.

Joining him for the celebration and launch dance will be John Hogan, PJ Murrihy, Carmel McLoughlin, Hugh Turner, Brendan Magee and Eugene Cunningham.