Nashville memories and a near miss on the Opry

Clare singer Michael O’Brien recalls the day he missed out on a Grand Ole Opry appearance. Like so many things in Nashville, it happened by pure chance and the invitation came out of the blue from George Hamilton IV.

Michael was in Nashville a few years ago and recorded six songs at the legendary Fireside Studios, formerly owned by country legend Porter Wagoner, and where several Irish singers recorded albums down the years.

“It was an absolute privilege to record the songs with some of the best session musicians there. I was also blessed to have Dolly Parton’s backing singers on harmony vocals.

“I included two Dolly Parton songs in the collection and it was such a special occasion to have these singers who had worked on so many songs with Dolly do likewise for me during my Nashville visit,” says Michael.

I was chatting away to him when he said, ‘What are you doing on Friday? I’m on the Opry that night and you can join me for a song’

While Michael was recording in one room at Fireside Studios, George Hamilton was also putting down a few tracks in another room. “George had a great love for Ireland and enjoyed his many visits over here. He was very a good friend of Sandy Kelly and was the narrator for Sandy’s The Patsy Cline Show that toured here and around the UK.

“I was chatting away to him when he said, ‘What are you doing on Friday? I’m on the Opry that night and you can join me for a song’. There were a few of us out from Ireland and our flights were booked for Friday so I had to pass on the invitation at the time,” reflects Michael.

A busy work schedule around Ireland, together with several trips to Spain and Portugal on the music holiday promotions with his wife Philomena McGovern who has been involved in the music scene for many years, meant that the songs recorded in Nashville were left on the shelf for some years.

“With the situation in the music business over the last six months, I decided now was a good time to start getting some of them out there as singles to the radio stations.”

The first one Michael has chosen to release is Heartsong, a beautiful number composed by Dolly Parton. It was also the title track on her superb live album recorded at a concert in Dollywood beside Pigeon Forge and The Smoky Mountains in 1994. The response has been very positive with numerous airplays on regional and internet stations. It is also available on iTunes. Philomena also has a single on release in recent months. Fly on the Wings of the Angels is a number penned by Mary O’Brien from Longford.

“We, like everyone else, are really missing the live music scene but we have to carry on. It‘s a case of one day at a time and hope for the best,” says Michael.

Live streaming of sports events and music shows has come to the fore in recent months as the coronavirus restrictions impact on our normal way of life. Sina Theil is putting the finishing touches to her livestream concert and it will be staged in the Town Hall Theatre in Galway on Saturday 7 November.

The German-born entertainer, who came to Ireland almost five years ago to study music at the BIMM Music College in Dublin, has wasted little time in making inroads into the Irish scene.

Duet

Songs like Good to Be Back Home, a duet with Sabrina Fallon who is a cousin of Mike Denver, have secured extensive plays on radio as well as on the Sky 376 Spotlight country channel.

She was the recipient of the Hottest Act in Irish Country Music at the Hot Country TV Awards last year.

“Good to Be Back Home introduced me to a whole new audience. The last few months have been hard and demanding on everyone associated with the music scene. It is so good to get a chance to get back on stage,” says Sina.

“This will be a 70-minute show with no interval. Billy Condon will be my special guest with Tony Corbett on keys and Lee Murphy on lead guitar. I play guitar as well.

“The event will also be professionally streamed and will therefore be accessible from anywhere in the world,” says Sina.

“Over the past lockdown months, my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sinatheilmusic) has grown to surpass 27,000 likes and 30,000 followers.

“I’m delighted to say it has become a welcoming and supportive community for people from all around the world that seek not only entertainment but maybe also a little escape from what is going on around us.”

Album

The show will feature some songs from her recent album, Reflections of a Celtic Heart, which includes Good To Be Back Home, Green Fields of France, Grace, The Parting Glass, and many more including her forthcoming single, Leaving Nancy.

Further details on tickets and updates can be had by checking Sina Theil’s Facebook page.

The country music fraternity joined in the many tributes to Highland Radio (Donegal) presenter Pio McCann who died at his home in Omagh last week. He was a native of nearby Dromore.

For three decades Pio hosted a hugely popular series of weekly shows on Highland Radio where his knowledge of the country scene here at home and in America was always to the fore.

He was honoured with a Country Music Association International Broadcaster award in Nashville in 2008 when he was presented with the award by George Hamilton IV.

In his younger years he was a member of Brian Coll and The Buckaroos and also featured with Hugo Duncan and The Tall Men.

Nathan Carter sang the Vince Gill classic, Go Rest High on That Mountain, as the coffin was carried from the Sacred Heart Church in Omagh after the funeral mass.

Among the many tributes was one from Philomena Begley: “Pio was a great friend. He did a lot for so many of us in country music. Thank you (Pio) for all the love and support you afforded me and Aidan over the years.”