Summer eases ever further into the rearview mirror while another season looms on the horizon as the evenings close in and life takes on a gentle pace.
John Burroughs, the great American essayist and nature lover who was born and raised in the Catskill mountains where love of the land and the great outdoors runs deep, had a lovely take on summer and winter.
He said: “Summer is more wooing and seductive, more versatile and human, appeals to the affections and the sentiments, and fosters inquiry and the art impulse. Winter is a more heroic cast, and addresses the intellect.”
Another season of concert shows are ready for the long nights, and country music will find willing audiences in venues all over Ireland.
Mike Denver from Portumna has been a stalwart of the scene for well over a decade now and he is all ready for the launch of his October and November shows, which take to the road with an opening night in The Ballymaloe Grainstore Theatre, Co Cork, on 12 October. His guests on this part of the tour are Brian Coll and Gloria.
“Apart from the outdoor summer concerts, nearly all our gigs have been dance shows over the last number of months. It will make a welcome change to take our concert tour around the country in the coming weeks. I always enjoy the intimacy of concerts and the way you can establish a fine rapport with audiences,” reflects Mike.
Three days in the Aldi tent at the National Ploughing in Tullamore last week saw Mike rise to the occasion in style.
“We did a number of stints each day and the place was heaving as people rambled in from every part of the country.
“It was great to get so many slots on TV3, who were also broadcasting from there. The Ploughing is such a welcoming venue for country music and it’s so easy to feel an integral part of the whole experience.”
Before Mike’s career took off in a major way, he performed at the Ploughing in Ballacolla (Laois) along with his mother Róisín. No wonder he feels a natural affinity with this great social and cultural occasion here in Ireland.
The new dvd from Mike is due out in the coming weeks and was recorded in the Royal Theatre in Castlebar some months ago.
“We had a 15-piece band and I am very happy with how it has turned out. It was shot by Mick Bracken, with studio work by Peter Maher.
“It also features a duet with my mother Róisín and another with Johnny McEvoy who joined me for a version of Muirsheen Durkin. We put a huge effort behind it and I’m delighted it is almost ready to roll.”
Mike is heading out to Portugal on Sunday for a week with Paul Claffey Tours. He also has his own dancing weekends coming up in Claremorris and Armagh, as well as a Scottish tour.
This will be Brian Coll’s first time as a guest performer on Mike’s concert tour. The man from Tyrone comes straight from the golden era of true country music.
The period from 1970 to 1976 was truly special in the life of Brian Coll. Give An Irish Girl To Me saw him reach No 7 in the Irish Top 10 in 1970. A year later, These Are My Mountains went to No 3.
Other chart successes from that era includes When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again, She’s Mine, Cover Mama’s Flowers, Mail Call, The Farmer, and, of course, the Johnny McCauley classic that he made his own, Hometown On The Foyle.
Like all great artists, Brian has remained true to the spirit of the genre that he fell in love with all those years ago. No question hangs over that loyalty, that dedication, and that absolute love for the music that has shaped his life.
Gloria has recorded some fine songs over the years but will always be synonymous with One Day at a Time. The single enjoyed three separate entries into the Irish charts, spending a phenomenal 90 weeks in total in the Top 20, a record that will most certainly never be equalled in Irish chart history.
She also recorded an acclaimed gospel album with Frankie McBride in Nashville in the 1980s.
The Mike Denver October concert tour with guests Brian Coll and Gloria gets underway in The Ballymaloe Grainstore Theatre in east Cork on Wednesday 12 October. Other concerts include:
• 13 October: Ardboyne Hotel, Navan.• 20 October: Spiegeltent Tent Festival, Wexford.• 21 October: The Green Isle Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin• 2 November: the Loughrea Hotel, Galway.• 3 November: The Parkview Hotel, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow.• 6 November: The Carrickdale Hotel, Dundalk.• 22 November: Clonmel Park Hotel, Co Tipperary. • 23 November: Charleville Park Hotel.• 24 November: the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth.• 30 November: The Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon.• 1 December: Portlaoise Heritage Hotel Another series of concerts shows will be staged in January and February with different guest artists.
• For further details and contact numbers for each venue, check out www.tomkellypromotions.
Summer eases ever further into the rearview mirror while another season looms on the horizon as the evenings close in and life takes on a gentle pace.
John Burroughs, the great American essayist and nature lover who was born and raised in the Catskill mountains where love of the land and the great outdoors runs deep, had a lovely take on summer and winter.
He said: “Summer is more wooing and seductive, more versatile and human, appeals to the affections and the sentiments, and fosters inquiry and the art impulse. Winter is a more heroic cast, and addresses the intellect.”
Another season of concert shows are ready for the long nights, and country music will find willing audiences in venues all over Ireland.
Mike Denver from Portumna has been a stalwart of the scene for well over a decade now and he is all ready for the launch of his October and November shows, which take to the road with an opening night in The Ballymaloe Grainstore Theatre, Co Cork, on 12 October. His guests on this part of the tour are Brian Coll and Gloria.
“Apart from the outdoor summer concerts, nearly all our gigs have been dance shows over the last number of months. It will make a welcome change to take our concert tour around the country in the coming weeks. I always enjoy the intimacy of concerts and the way you can establish a fine rapport with audiences,” reflects Mike.
Three days in the Aldi tent at the National Ploughing in Tullamore last week saw Mike rise to the occasion in style.
“We did a number of stints each day and the place was heaving as people rambled in from every part of the country.
“It was great to get so many slots on TV3, who were also broadcasting from there. The Ploughing is such a welcoming venue for country music and it’s so easy to feel an integral part of the whole experience.”
Before Mike’s career took off in a major way, he performed at the Ploughing in Ballacolla (Laois) along with his mother Róisín. No wonder he feels a natural affinity with this great social and cultural occasion here in Ireland.
The new dvd from Mike is due out in the coming weeks and was recorded in the Royal Theatre in Castlebar some months ago.
“We had a 15-piece band and I am very happy with how it has turned out. It was shot by Mick Bracken, with studio work by Peter Maher.
“It also features a duet with my mother Róisín and another with Johnny McEvoy who joined me for a version of Muirsheen Durkin. We put a huge effort behind it and I’m delighted it is almost ready to roll.”
Mike is heading out to Portugal on Sunday for a week with Paul Claffey Tours. He also has his own dancing weekends coming up in Claremorris and Armagh, as well as a Scottish tour.
This will be Brian Coll’s first time as a guest performer on Mike’s concert tour. The man from Tyrone comes straight from the golden era of true country music.
The period from 1970 to 1976 was truly special in the life of Brian Coll. Give An Irish Girl To Me saw him reach No 7 in the Irish Top 10 in 1970. A year later, These Are My Mountains went to No 3.
Other chart successes from that era includes When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again, She’s Mine, Cover Mama’s Flowers, Mail Call, The Farmer, and, of course, the Johnny McCauley classic that he made his own, Hometown On The Foyle.
Like all great artists, Brian has remained true to the spirit of the genre that he fell in love with all those years ago. No question hangs over that loyalty, that dedication, and that absolute love for the music that has shaped his life.
Gloria has recorded some fine songs over the years but will always be synonymous with One Day at a Time. The single enjoyed three separate entries into the Irish charts, spending a phenomenal 90 weeks in total in the Top 20, a record that will most certainly never be equalled in Irish chart history.
She also recorded an acclaimed gospel album with Frankie McBride in Nashville in the 1980s.
The Mike Denver October concert tour with guests Brian Coll and Gloria gets underway in The Ballymaloe Grainstore Theatre in east Cork on Wednesday 12 October. Other concerts include:
• 13 October: Ardboyne Hotel, Navan.• 20 October: Spiegeltent Tent Festival, Wexford.• 21 October: The Green Isle Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin• 2 November: the Loughrea Hotel, Galway.• 3 November: The Parkview Hotel, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow.• 6 November: The Carrickdale Hotel, Dundalk.• 22 November: Clonmel Park Hotel, Co Tipperary. • 23 November: Charleville Park Hotel.• 24 November: the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth.• 30 November: The Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon.• 1 December: Portlaoise Heritage Hotel Another series of concerts shows will be staged in January and February with different guest artists.
• For further details and contact numbers for each venue, check out www.tomkellypromotions.
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