Jordan Mogey is the real deal when it comes to country music. The 22-year-old from Ballymoney in Co Antrim is a Godsend for those who have been yearning for a voice that goes right to the fountain of the tradition.

Here is a young man with an amazing respect for the true legends of the genre. It comes as no surprise at all to find that Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams are among his heroes.

One can almost sense that Jordan is completely at ease with a song like the Willie Nelson classic, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys. The young singer is in awe of the old west and the stories of the trails and frontiers.

“I’ve grown up loving the cowboys and the old western movies. John Wayne is my favourite actor. In my spare time, I love to relax with some of the classics from the western era. Wayne Bond, James Stewart, Gregory Peck and others are also high on my list.

“My favourite movie of all is The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. It was the first one I ever watched from start to finish. I love it.”

Country music was much to the fore in the Mogey home.

“It was always there in the background. I was raised on the sounds of traditional American country and loved it from the start.

“YouTube has been brilliant in giving us access to much of the old material. Apart from Cash and Haggard, singers like Vern Gosdin, The Louvin Brothers, Ernest Tubb, Don Williams and Webb Pearce would be other favourites of mine. I love the songs and their style of singing. They tug at your heart strings.

“While country has drifted down many other roads in the past two decades, I believe there will always be an appreciation for country music that goes back to the roots. It still remains strong and has enduring appeal.

“Hank Williams left us all a wonderful legacy. He had one of the greatest minds of any writer in any genre. He was a poet who understood the heart and he left us timeless classics.”

It was Jordan’s memorable rendition of I’ll Leave This World Loving You that marked him out as the keeper of the flame. His debut album, Alone With You, was released in late 2015. It provides a fine showcase for the emerging star. Two of the songs, If There’s A God In Heaven and That’s Why I Love Trains, are songs composed by this talented writer and performer.

Jordan was invited by Mary Duff as a guest artist when she did a concert in Sri Lanka last year. This March, Jordan and a six-piece band have been invited back to the country to headline a major show.

“Don Williams was there some time ago and they loved him. During the interval last year, someone asked me if I would sing a Jim Reeves’ song in the second half. I did a medley and the whole audience sang along. It was amazing.”

April sees Jordan join Mary Duff and Kathy Crinion for five concert shows in England, with another tour of Scotland in June. The young man from Antrim, who played his first date down in Salthill, Galway, a year ago, was honoured with the Best Newcomer Award at the Country Sound awards in Athlone last March.

Country music is in safe hands with Jordan Mogey. He looks set to blaze a trail across the country heartlands. It is just a matter of time.