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• Here Is The News

  • Game Boy maestro wins Blastbeat NI final
  • Clannad: Belfast date - May 22
  • Carroll and Boyle: harp addicts’ new CD

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Derry teenager Donal Sweeney (photo by Robin Cordiner) - performing as Frau Sandy - won the recent Coca-Cola Blastbeat Northern Ireland National Final at the Limelight on Saturday, April 26. Sweeney, a 16-year-old student at Lumen Christi College, was helped by Disco Robots, a music promotion company formed by 5th year students from St Columb’s College, Co Londonderry. According to reports, Frau Sandy put on quite a show at the Limelight, wowing the capacity crowd with his innovative blend of electro-pop created and played on his Game Boy console. Read more

Having just completed their first tour of England in 10 years, the phenomena that is Clannad - the “new age folk” group from Donegal - has embarked on 3-date tour of mainland Europe. Read more

A new CD album entitled The Meeting is a unique collection of traditional tunes and original compositions performed by accomplished Ulster harpists Sharon Carroll (pictured) and Cherith Boyle - Boyle is a friend and former pupil of Caroll’s. Read more

This one full-day workshop is specially designed for everyone with an interest in learning and singing Gregorian Chant within the context of the sacred liturgy. Read more

The Ulster Orchestra celebrates the passing of spring into summer [how many other bands do that..? - ed] with their Spring Serenades concert at Queen’s Elmwood Hall on Wed, May 14. Read more

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The Ulster blues scene is on the up. Blues Jam - starting Tuesday, May 6 - is a new monthly “come-all-ye” event, held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Imperial Bar, Bangor. [more about Bangor, Co Down - ed]. The five-piece house band play Chicago style - and warmly invite other guitarists and singers along to get on-stage and pump the jam - or just kick back with a pint and chill.

http://www.myspace.com/bangorbluesjam

COME-ALL-YE, n. (pejor), a traditional ballad, especially a long-drawn-out one ‘Come all ye lads and lassies,’ etc., a common opening line of such ballads. ‘Well, he got up to sing a come-all-ye, twenty verses or more - we thought he’d never sit down!’ - A Dictionary of Hiberno-English. 

The Island Arts Centre, Lisburn is tackling up to trawl for “the next big thing” in music entertainment as the Music Quest 08 tide rises. The bait is a juicy £1k cash prize for the lucky band/performer plus a special guest support slot alongside a “major act” at Music Revolution 08. To enter Music Quest you must be a new or established unsigned band/solo performer, performing your own original material. More information from Jeff Byers 028 9250-9509 jeff.byers@iac.lisburn.gov.uk

Blues aficionados, lovers of good live music, and those who remember The Maritime, Club Rado, The Marquee, and the Astor Ballroom should set some time aside for the upcoming 12 Bar blues Festival @ the Spring and Airbrake (May 9-10). The festival is the brainchild of Rab Braniff, president of The Belfast Blues Society and an accomplished vocalist and harp player in his own right. Rab’s idea was to pay homage to Belfast’s musical heritage, before the troubles, when the aforementioned clubs featured artists who went on to achieve rock star status on the world stage. Read more

The new Unsigned Guide is an 872-page music industry contacts directory researched and compiled specifically for unsigned bands and artists. Now in its 6th edition, the guide contains over 11,500 UK music industry contacts: phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites and postal addresses. Each entry explains exactly how they can help you as an unsigned band or artist. http://www.theunsignedguide.com

Following a break from music and a year living in Australia, Claire Sproule is about to release her brand new album Shades Of Night, on her own independent label. Sproule’s debut album was released on Parlophone Records and sold over 10k units in Ireland. She has supported artists Dr John and Al Green at venues such as The Royal Albert Hall; she was a Meteor Ireland Music Awards nominee for Best Irish Female in 2007. Shades of Night will be available in May, with the first single Heaven being released at the start of May. http://www.clairesproule.com

Daniel O’Donnell has new single on the launch-pad: Mother’s Birthday Song was written by prolific songwriter John Farry. Farry, who hails from Garrison, Co. Fermanagh - and a recording artist in his own right - says the song was inspired by his own mother [not O’Donnell’s own “mammy” - ed]. Farry is best known for writing Ireland’s 1997 entry for the Eurovision Song Contest - a song entitled Mysterious Woman - which took second place. Read more

Irish language television channel TG4’s new talent show Nollaig No. 1 is searching for a new “singing sensation”. The winner of the serialised talent contest will launch a single and music video and vie for the top slot in Ireland’s singles chart this coming Christmas. Read more

The Northern Ireland Country Music Awards 2008 takes place on Wednesday, April 30 in the Tullyglass Hotel, Ballymena.The event will highlight the achievements and recognize the talents of Ulster’s top country music performers. There are a eleven award categories and on the night there will be TV personalities hosting the event, a full live band, and live performances from a selection of the nominees. Some of the acts that will perform on the night include: Jimmy Buckley, Mike Denver, John McNicholl, Philomena Begley, Eamon McCann, Warren Smyth, Steven Smyth, Shaun Loughrey, Louise Morrisey, Thomas Maguire, Fiona Ennis and many more. Tickets from Tullyglass Hotel tel: 028 2565 2639

Derry alt-rock band Fighting With Wire has confirmed summer tour dates in Germany (Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt), Belgium and England: see http://www.myspace.com/fightingwithwire. The brainchild of guitarist Cahir O’Doherty and drummer Craig McKean, Fighting With Wire emerged in 2003 and released a number of limited-edition singles. After a hiatus at the end of 2006 the band started work on their debut album: Man Vs Monster was recorded in Ulster and completed in mid-2007. Read more

Epic Records - now a subsidiary of global music company Sony BMG - has signed a trio of singing priests from Ulster. To be known simply as The Priests, Father Martin O’Hagan, aged 45, his older brother Eugene, and school friend David Delargy, 44, have together signed a £1M deal with Sony in London. All three have parishes in the diocese of Down and Connor and first sang sacred music together at St MacNissi’s college, Co Antrim [where they were nicknamed Holy Holy Holy - ed]. Read more

School bands from across Ulster face off in the Northern Ireland final of the Coca-Cola Blastbeat competition at the Limelight, Belfast this Saturday, April 26 from 1pm until 6pm. The participants include: Frau Sandy (Columb’s College); Seven Story Weather (Campbell College); 6 Days Later (St Malachy’s College); Illict (De La Salle); Atlas (St. Colmcilles College); Jargon (St Malachy’s College); and The Audiables (De La Salle). Read more

Ulster musicians can now access the ground-breaking range of new capo designs for six-string electric and acoustic guitars, as made by G7th Ltd. Designed to be the “best capo in the world”, the design allows adjusting without pesky re-tuning, a one-touch mechanism and a unique tension control system. Read more

Rena Maguire writes for UlsterMusic.com: For a band who say they formed on the 16th of March to play the next day in a St. Patrick’s Day drinking session, the self-confessed “six w*****s from Tyrone” who make up the Logues (pictured) are starting to sound very, very commercial and professional indeed. Folk bands seem to be more open to the fusion of rock and raucousness, ready to be blended with the strings of their mandolins than most music genres these days, and the Logues are no exception. Providing a blend of good and sound traditional music, with their influences coming from AC/DC and Jeremy Kyle (!) its no surprise that this wee band of eejits are releasing their first single in May 2008. Entitled “I never loved you anyway”, its what you expect from a good serious party animal band. Check them for now on www.myspace.com/logues, until their new website is ready and deserving of a website party. Bring a bottle… and expect to stay late.

Andrew Thompson interviews Co. Monaghan’s Gráinne Duffy for UlsterMusic.com; photographs by Robin Cordiner: Gráinne Louica Duffy may not be a name you are too familiar with, but - believe me - watch this space. I first heard the name late last year on a local radio station, and thought, mmm, sounds interesting. They played a track and I made a mental note to catch her if she was playing anywhere around Belfast. I managed to see and hear her for myself on a cold Thursday night last December in Belfast’s Rotterdam Bar. There were about 20 people in the bar that night. Last Thursday - April 10 - was a different story… “The Rott” was now comfortably full, and I managed a back-bar interview with the woman herself before the show started: Read more

Coleraine based “melodic rock” trio Swurve - messrs. Cozy McAuley, Steve Legear, and Tim Torrens [not Tim Collins - ed] - plan to release a new EP, single and future LP with an (unnamed) American label later in 2008. Swurve say that the Los Angeles based label is owned by one of the biggest names in the American music industry. Read more

Invitation is the title of the 6th in a series of self-produced CD albums from prolific singer-songwriter Fra Donaghy. Available via free digital download, all 10 tracks are performed by 28-year-old Fra, and written by him, except “Torture Again“, which was co-written with longterm collaborator Deane Morrone, and two cover versions. Read more

The Windmill, Brixton in south London, is the venue for a weekend showcase of new-generation bands from N. Ireland. The NI:NG Showcase features up-and-coming indie acts Panama Kings, Escape Act, Kowaski, Cutaways, and Pocket Promise on Saturday, April 26 - and V-Formation, General Fiasco, And So I Watch You From Afar, Pat, Nipsy, Ned and Fred on the Sunday. There’s a free early evening BBQ and the door tax is a mere £5. 00. More about the venue here. The 2-day event has been organised by NI:NG http://www.myspace.com/ninextgeneration

The 7th City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival welcomes back the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Irish queen of Jazz, Honor Heffernan, and a special evening hosted by BBC Radio Ulster featuring the Ulster Orchestra directed by Jazz pianist and arranger Brian Byrne. This year the festival also introduces Kyle Eastwood, Cormac Kenevey, The Commitments, and DJ David Holmes, to our festival for the first time. The Guinness Free Jazz Trail is back, providing hundreds of hours of free music and entertainment over the weekend. The late night festival club at the City Hotel will also offer an opportunity to sit back and relax to the sounds of some top class music after the days’ activities.

programme: http://www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com/

It’s true. Paul’s Mobile Disco offers music for all ages and every occassion: birthdays, engagements, weddings , office parties, funerals - even discos. [younger readers please note - a “mobile disco” is not the same as danceable MP3s/AACs played back on a mobile phone - ed]. Paul: 028 9047-1892 | 07919 056-893

Bluesman Rab McCulloch and friends headline “Singing the Blues” gig for charity - Habitat for Humanity - the The Lansdowne Hotel on the Antrim Road on Wednesday, April 23. Tickets at £10 from Simply Devine on the Antrim Road or phone Maria: 07716 724 078

Need a “Big O” persona to complete that Traveling Wilburys tribute band? Roy Orbison act Paul McCluskey is available for bookings on 028 9029 136

Belfast-born Tony Kaluarachchi is a singer-songwriter and an accomplished jazz-blues guitarist who plays the music of his heroes - Hendrix and Ellington - with gusto. He’s done stints as frontman for the reformed Animals and Them and major festivals in Ireland. Tony Kal performs every Thursday
at McHughs Bar, Custom House Square, Belfast from 10pm til round midnight.